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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29549739">Enormity of a Thousand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeMilkAndTea/pseuds/CoffeeMilkAndTea'>CoffeeMilkAndTea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dragon!Chihiro, F/M, Human!Haku, Not by Chihiro tho, Reincarnation, River!Chihiro, What if Chihiro and Haku switch places, What-If, mentions of human eating, reverse canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:55:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>44,283</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29549739</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeMilkAndTea/pseuds/CoffeeMilkAndTea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You never really forget someone. It just takes a while for the memories to come back.</p><p>Chihiro bears the weight of a hundred thousand lives on her shoulders: They call her Chihiro-gawa, Chihiro River. This is the story of her and a human boy with green eyes, and their love through millennia.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haku | Nigihayami Kohakunushi/Ogino Chihiro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Heaven's River</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chihiro thinks she might’ve been human, once. But that those days are long gone.</p><p>The reason why she thinks she’s human is when she first registered that she was <em> water-flowing-into-sea </em> there was a girl crying on her shoreline with a bundle of pink flowers. In her hand is a little stone grave tablet, and it says <em> Chihiro. </em></p><p>So she is Chihiro the River, and they even call her that, asking her to bring them fish or rain or good harvest. She tries her best; cold flowing water through rice paddies and fresh fish for families-</p><p>No matter how she ended up becoming a river, she finds that she is content. There is peace, there is rain, and the sound of people, and where she met the ocean.</p><p>And then, it stops. There is fire around her body, dead animals floating through her, the sound of screaming and blood of the citizens pouring into and <em> through </em> her, and this enraged her, until she cannot bear it no longer.</p><p>It is with scaly feet and four talons that she steps on land for the first time in a century and looks the intruders in the eye. </p><p>Gods often are born out of two things: necessity and <em> sacrifice. </em></p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Chihiro is now a dragon. She accepts this with surprising ease; after all, did she not snake and curl around the land, and bring harvest? </p><p>It’s more perplexing to her, the lack of turmoil about it- but she hasn’t felt <em> human, </em>not for hundreds of years.</p><p>The village lays abandoned, corpses becoming one with the earth, and for a long time, only having ravens and animals for company.</p><p>Then, a remarkable occurrence comes to pass. There is a <em> witch </em>on her riverbank, and detached, she overlooks the proceedings with interest.</p><p><em>River, </em> the Witch asks, after a night and a day, <em> I have a dream,</em></p><p>This is a novelty. <em> Humans </em> have dreams, and it has been <em> so long </em>since she has seen one. </p><p><em>I want to have a bathhouse, </em> the witch confides. <em> Somewhere people come to rest. I am poor and weary, and compared often to my sister. I wish to make a name for myself.</em></p><p>Chihiro remains silent, though attentive.</p><p>
  <em> Will you lend me your strength? To collect on your water? </em>
</p><p>Chihiro might be a lonely dragon, but she isn’t stupid. She smells a trap.</p><p>But…</p><p> </p><p><em> If you make a deal with me- bring humans back to the riverbank and let me enjoy their company once more, </em> she answers: <em> and I will allow you to collect my waters. </em></p><p> </p><p>The witch <em> smiles, </em>glittering like jewels, and Chihiro realizes, with a sinking feeling, like a heavy boulder through her fluid body, that she has been caught.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Deal. </em>
</p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p>It is the warring states era, and soon enough, the land where she snaked through was repopulated. <em> Edo, </em>they called the land around her. Trees disappeared, leaving endless fields of golden rice in their place. People harvested around her and called her by her name, and for a time, she is happy and at peace. The wars of man had not much to do with her, and indeed, the wars stopped altogether. </p><p>She never forgets the witch, though, because of the constant presence of humans on her banks. She knows very well who she is indebted to. The water is indeed collected from her, though she doesn’t know where it goes to. </p><p>The humans grow wealthy around her: so wealthy that they no longer need rice paddies around her- up around her spring townhouses, then <em> palaces </em>, shining white and bright. Men with gleaming swords and women dressed in silks walk her cobbled riverbanks; they adorn her body with bridges and float boats, and she has all the company she could ever want. </p><p>A hundred years pass- then two hundred- Chihiro has become a part of a grand city, the most powerful in Japan, and this frightens her and exhilarates her enormously. </p><p>Then <em> change comes, </em>and the volley of gunshots, not the clashing of swords, tears through her riverbanks and washes once again through her, sinking heavy stones through her body, consigning bodies once more to her watery depths. But she is afraid, this time. She has ears and she knows, this time- unlike times before, that this is no time to reveal herself. </p><p>Eventually things settle. But things will not go back to being the same, ever again. </p><p>Chihiro experiences what it truly means to have <em> pollution. </em>Not silt from humans poured into her banks, no, but muck and exhaust poured through her shores. </p><p>As she writhes in agony, things change around her: the land buckles and bridles, and-</p><p>Finally, a fateful day arrives:</p><p>
  <em> Chaos screaming fire, bodies under rubble, families weeping, an entire city consigned to fire and dust and fallen beams- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Gods are born out of necessity, as it has been said- and sacrifice-</p><p> </p><p>Chihiro the human is spat out in the middle of this chaos, screaming and dirty, wearing burned kimono and nearly out of her mind. The madness is palpable; the stench of fear and destruction all around her. </p><p>When she calms, she finally realizes the magnitude of what has happened. </p><p>For a time, Chihiro sits on a partially broken curb and bitterly laughs until she cries. No one pays any note; she is someone’s cousin or sister or daughter, weeping about the destruction like everyone else.</p><p><em> I did this; to my humans. </em>It seems like bitter irony that only at the expense of their lives that she finally reached a point that she looked like them. </p><p>She looks young, she eventually realizes, looking at her hands. She has no idea if she looks the same as she did when she was alive, millennia ago. </p><p>When she catches sight of herself in a partially intact mirror, Chihiro cannot recognize her own face.</p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>She labors to rebuild the city one way or another; even though she was in pain before, she is still remorseful. </p><p><em> I have a human form now to help these people, </em>she tells herself, and almost believes it. She learns human medicine and loses her ancient accent.</p><p>The incident is remembered as “The Great Kanto Earthquake,” and one day, as she is wiping her hands clean on her Yukata, she realizes that it is the beginning of the end.</p><p>These people don’t believe in gods any more. Not really. Not <em> enough. </em> They won’t ask for <em> her.  </em></p><p>Chihiro stands one night on a bridge adorning her shores, contemplating this, looking into the depths of her grand body. It looks inky and glittering in the light of the moon, of the lanterns.</p><p>“What’re you doing?” </p><p>As she turns to look, a beautiful boy with green eyes is standing on the bridge. <em> Half Japanese, </em>Chihiro realizes. His hair is cut into a neat shape, though it’s getting long. </p><p>“Thinking about returning home,” she answers honestly. “I don’t have much time left with it.”</p><p>“You still have one?” His brow furrows. “You’re fortunate, then.”</p><p>She smiles, though a lance of grief pierces her heart. “Yes. I am, aren’t I?” Most of these people would never return to their homes. They lost it all in the space of a day. </p><p>She scrambles up onto the top of the bridge ledge, ignoring the alarm from the other inhabitant. She feels the sensation of arms around her feet.“What are you doing!”</p><p>“It’s okay,” she persuades him, laughing. She opens her arms. “See? I can balance fine.” </p><p>Hesitant, the boy lets go, observing her warily. </p><p>Smiling, she kneels. “It’s okay,” she tells him again, and gently rocking forward, she touches her forehead to his. </p><p>
  <em> Water silt rocks, the sensation of rippling scales- </em>
</p><p>“<em> Kami-sama,” </em> the boy gasps. He’s not addressing any god but <em> her, </em> and she relishes the <em> acknowledgement </em>, as pure as a raindrop on her surface. As she opens her eyes, she knows her pupils are slits. </p><p>To his credit, he stares into them unwaveringly with his own calm. </p><p>“Yes,” she replies. </p><p>His eyebrows furrow again, though this time with understanding. “Will I see you again?”</p><p>It’s such a <em> beautiful </em> request, because for the first time in millennia, someone truly wants to see <em> her. </em>“I promise,” she says, and a thread of fate ties itself to him, as unbreakable as the sun rising and setting in the sky. </p><p>As she dives backwards into the water, rejoining with herself, she thinks she sees him waving.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>She rejoins herself, and it’s euphoria and agony at once. She’s greatly diminished in her power; soot and ash fill her body, and she gags on it, but afraid, she remains still. She does not writhe in pain again. Still, sometimes it becomes too much, and there are smaller quakes because of it. The humans have learned, though, and there is less death.</p><p>It eases over time. The pollution reduces- <em> she </em> is reduced, but her waters become cleaner, for whatever reason. She enjoys it while she can, because the next time there is pollution like that, it might very well be the last time. </p><p>She is a god, but she is not immortal. She is only <em> nearly </em> immortal, or <em> theoretically </em>immortal, much like the crayfish that crawls occasionally through her watery hair. </p><p>Then, an unexpected day comes. </p><p>Sunlight pours through her water, harsh and bright, warming her depths; there is a family on her rocky shores, admiring the day. And there is a little boy, who is playing with her. He flicks around her water, and laughing, she enjoys it. It is very much like a small child who comes up to you in a restaurant and asks you to play. </p><p>But she is very large and he is very small, and she accidentally knocks him over. </p><p>He falls <em> into </em> her, and to her astonishment, he has <em> green eyes.  </em></p><p>The thread of fate snaps taut, and astonishment turns into fear, and chaos ensues. The boy is struggling for air inside of her grand body, and panicking, she ends up sweeping him away, tearing off one of his shoes in the process. His parents are slightly slow to notice.</p><p><em> Hey! Hey! </em>She calls to him, and she becomes scales and horns swimming through the current, and as he grasps onto her, she pulls him to shore. </p><p><em> “Kohaku! Kohaku!” </em>The parents call, and something settles inside of her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> His name is Kohaku.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>As he reaches, grasping the hands of his mother, Chihiro withdraws. </p><p>Still, those green eyes look for her. </p><p>The thread of fate glimmers between them.</p><p>“Thank you,” the little boy says, very seriously. </p><p>“Who’re you talking to?” </p><p>“Kami-sama,” the boy replies, and the expressions of his parents change. For the first time in a century or more, Chihiro receives bows of respect and gratitude. </p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>She doesn’t see the boy again- he doesn’t visit. Kohaku, she repeats to herself. <em> Kohaku Kohaku Kohaku. </em>Kohaku, she sings to herself.</p><p>The filth comes back- polluting her once more, filling her up. She accepts it like death. </p><p>Bicycles, paper rubbish, plastic bags fill her, and gasoline turns her iridescent and oily, coating her grand body with pitch black ink. </p><p><em> This is the price of the witch, </em> she knows. <em> At long last, I got what I asked for, for a price. Company at the expense of my immortality.  </em></p><p>But she wants to see the boy again. The thread hasn’t snapped yet. There is still… something left to be accomplished.</p><p>She draws herself out of the water, with human hands and feet, and begins to walk. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Frog leaping into the Pond</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chihiro walks through the wilderness. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dragon, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she hears around her in awe. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chihiro-gawa. </span>
  </em>
  <span>A thousand making a river, a thousand moments building up to a dragon god. The whispers confuse her; because she has done nothing of note except exist. The presences are so little around her, though, that if she doesn’t listen to the voices, she would never know they existed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small frog comes to her: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“My family had the honor of living upon your banks, O Great Dragon. Can I be of service?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I need to find a witch. A witch who owns a bathhouse.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The frog pauses. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Why?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chihiro peers at the amphibian spirit. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You know of her.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>So famous already, though only a few hundred years have passed.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“There is no spirit in japan who hasn’t,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The frog answers solemnly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“She is wealthy and powerful, and her baths are second to none. Many enter the bathhouse in hopes of acquiring a tiny bit of that wealth. None have yet to leave. Those who go only enter as customers, unless they are truly desperate.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where can I find her?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...You cross the mountains, and find a red tunnel. The humans built it at her request.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thank you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chihiro smiles, and despite the frog’s obvious worry, he beams at her, like a flower opening up to the sun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>*</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She treads along the lush greenery, padding across moss. The smiling god guarding the gate greets her through it’s stone avatar: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Greetings, o great Chihiro-gawa.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Greetings,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chihiro returns, though she privately has her misgivings that she is ‘great.’ </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Is the bathhouse this way?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It is.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chihiro gazes at the beginning of the tunnel. It’s a beautiful red, gleaming like a ruby. But there is no human life beyond it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why are there so many tablets for us outside, down below?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she queries, curious. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“How did they know to place it for us?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The god laughs. It’s a little strange to see a stone sculpture laugh without so much as a change of expression. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Madam Witch chased the humans out of these parts. <span class="hardreadability"><span>They placed them to appease us and warn other humans; she drove those who owned the land to ruin, and transformed others into swine for her customers</span></span><span>. </span>Eventually, the human authorities closed what lay beyond for fear of further disappearances. It was a shame, because the pork was delicious.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Chihiro is inscrutable, though filled with revulsion. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you for your anecdote,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she replies, rather coldly. Ignoring all other attempts at conversation, she steps through the tunnel, leaving the god far behind her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>An otherworld air blew, and as she reaches the end, she looks at what lay before her. Some of the things she saw were a natural continuation of what she had seen when rebuilding, stained glass glittering in the windows.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A station, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she realizes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she steps out into the world that lay beyond, she sees just what Yubaba had asked the humans to create. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>An amusement park, not for the living, but for what lay further beyond the veil. For her customers to play and eat, to rent property and feed the gods. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tall and proud they built the stories of colorful buildings, pink and teal, yellow and warm in the sunlight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The smell of food- </span>
  <em>
    <span>offerings- </span>
  </em>
  <span>filled her throat and mouth, and in it she smelled </span>
  <em>
    <span>pork. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Her lip curls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chihiro strides over the bridge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The change in the air is palpable: She knows that this is where her body goes; where the witch takes her pound of flesh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The spirits inside seem to know it, too- and fear her. They scatter like so many toothpicks before her, plastering their heads to the floor, all work coming to a stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment, Chihiro realizes something: that the presences here truly felt small. In fact, only Yuubaba, located somewhere above her, felt somewhat real. But even </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> felt smaller than Chihiro remembered.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where is The Witch?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she queries the back of the scalps present.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shivering, a bath-girl answers: “She is upstairs, o Dragon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chihiro considers this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, I know, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she wants to reply. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did these people not think she could feel where The Witch was? </span>
  </em>
  <span>But it was human speech that they answered with, which she found interesting. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Lead me to her.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Miserable, the girl rises, shaking from head to toe. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why are you all so afraid, even now? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Chihiro wonders. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I haven’t done anything. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The bathhouse was truly spectacular; styled with golden gilt and flower, gleaming hardwoods and red lacquer. It shines all together like one, enormous jewel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like a magpie, Chihiro thinks to herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew you would come to me someday.” Yuubaba says to her, enormous, bulging eyes observing her. Smoke blew out of her mouth, filling the room with it’s stench.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you ensured that,” Chihiro replies calmly. She looks around the firelit room. “I see you have achieved the comforts that you so desired when you first came to me, a younger witch with a dream.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did,” Yuubaba acknowledges. “But it’s not enough,” Chihiro realizes after a moment. “The deal hasn’t been fulfilled. Humans still overflow my shores. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yuubaba points the pipe at her. “Zeniba.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chihiro wracks her brains, and after several long moments, arrives on: “Your sister.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Correct. Though it pains me to admit, I am still compared to her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Becoming a wealthy witch with hundreds of spirits under your command wasn’t enough for you to become the superior sister?” Chihiro asks, amused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get smart with me, river girl,” the witch growls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chihiro tilts her head. “You’ve used my pounds of flesh to become what you are today. You still benefit. My waters are powerful enough to purify your customers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bah.” The witch throws down her pipe with a clatter, then after a moment, looks up again with anticipatory smugness. “What’re you here for then, if you’re not here to scold me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your eagerness to twist words in deals hasn’t served you very well in my case, I’m afraid,” Chihiro replies dryly. “I’m sure you’ve seen the water become polluted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, the humans you so admire,” Yuubaba sneers. “Has it served you well yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will dry up,” Chihiro calmly states. “And your deal hasn’t been fulfilled yet. As long as there are humans on my shores, you must be able to take water from me. And in addition, long as you are compared to your sister, the deal hasn’t been finished yet.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A shrewd gleam enters the witch’s eyes. “So what do you suggest I do, dragon?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Refill my body. Purify it,” Chihiro answers casually, as if she isn’t nullifying the worst of the deal with just this suggestion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yuubaba purses her lips. “I will do it, if you work for me.”</span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah. This is bad. “How do you plan on employing me?” She hedges.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will take your name, Chihiro-gawa,” Yuubaba grins, as if she had gotten the best of her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chihiro contemplates this. This is a very powerful agreement indeed. But as long as she survives… the string of fate will prevail. There is a chance that she will break free and rejoin Kohaku in the human world. Something that the witch knew nothing about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She chooses her words carefully. “Should I gain my name again, witch, you are still to uphold the deal for my body. Nothing more, nothing less.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuubaba picks up her pipe, and as she chews on the stem, a smile tilts her lips. “You’re asking me to gamble for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For ownership of me, yes,” Chihiro replies calmly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dragons are difficult to keep. This is the price you must pay for attempting something so dangerous.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Deal,” Yuubaba says, and as Chihiro signs her name, the characters are peeled off, dancing into the witch’s fist, one by one. The talons unfurl, revealing their absence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sen,” Yuubaba declares, and uneasy, Sen- formerly Chihiro- shifts on the carpet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are a dragon, but you no longer know why.” She laughs, long and loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to the bathhouse.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen no longer has her name, but she has someone else’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Kohaku, Kohaku, Kohaku. </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I WAS SO MOVED BY EVERYONE’S FEEDBACK,,, I hope you enjoy Chihiro settling into the bath house in the future! I wanted to write some back story before Kohaku arrives<br/>I can’t wait to talk to you again!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The harsh cry of the Heron</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sen is no longer Chihiro, but she is still a <em> Dragon, </em>as Yubaba said, and every single presence in the bath house still knows it. Spirits come far and wide to the bathhouse, and the whispers start to spread: The Witch has a Dragon to watch over the customers, so tread carefully.</p><p>Yubaba knows how to extract her ounce of flesh just fine without Sen, but with Sen, there’s no need to make threats. Sen <em> is </em>the threat.</p><p>Yubaba wraps herself in the cloak of a magpie, and laughs at Sen the first time Sen watches her getting ready to depart from the Bath house. “Jealous, Dragon?”</p><p>“Of?” Sen asks neutrally.</p><p>“My leaving, of course.” </p><p>Sen looks at her. “It’s <em> only </em>a very long tether,” She reminds Yubaba, who colors into a sickly puce. It’s not a very attractive look on her- embarrassment. </p><p>They both know that Yubaba can’t bear to leave the bath house for long. It’s even in her name- “Bath Grandma.” Yubaba has even less of a name than Sen, who at least kept part of hers. </p><p>No, Yubaba isn’t enslaved the same way she’s enslaved everyone in her keeping, but it’s worse. She’s tied to the success and life of the bath house beyond recognition- and she’s done it to <em> herself </em>, because it was better than how she used to live.</p><p>Yubaba sniffs. “Keep laughing, Dragon. And watch over the customers and workers- and <em> don’t </em>allow them to think that because I’m gone, that they can do as they please.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen looks flatly at Yubaba. <em> Do you think they find me somehow less scary than you? Really? </em> Despite it being a year, they were just as afraid of her as the day she walked in. Sen hardly remembers the life outside of the bath house now, but she’s cognizant that it’s due to the contract’s magic. So even though she doesn’t know <em> why, </em>she still feels that it’s strange to be feared instead of welcomed or ignored.</p><p><br/>“When have I ever done any differently?”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p><em> No, </em> Sen thinks to herself. <em> I overestimated their fear. </em></p><p>“<em> What,” </em>she says, “do you think you’re serving me?”</p><p>The foreman flinches as he bows and scrapes, backing away from her. In front of her was a soup. “So sorry, Mistress Sen,” He stammers, “But because the witch isn’t here, we can’t transform them into pigs- but we were able to get the stench out with a lot of effort-”</p><p><em> Human, boiled in water, </em>Sen knows beyond confirmation. The only reason why she hadn’t turned the foreman into a bloody stain on the carpet is the fact that she hadn't tasted it.</p><p>Sen was busy today- and wasn’t paying attention to the water in the bath house closely. She’s unsure why she has such a connection, but chalked it up to being second in command. <em> “Is this something you’re serving to guests?” </em>She says instead, because explaining her personal revulsion to someone like the foreman was going to take too long.</p><p>Silence. Then: “We’re about to,” he says timidly. “Since you’re the highest ranking here, you get to eat first.”</p><p>“Cancel the order,” she pinches the bridge of her nose. “For everyone. And <em> never </em>serve humans to me again, transformed or otherwise. It’s displeasing.”</p><p>“Right,” The foreman gasps, and backs away. His skin is glistening with sweat. </p><p>It’s clear that he wants to be dismissed, but Sen isn’t done with him yet. Her foot begins to tap. <em>(Scaled feet and talons, hiding behind the guise of flesh)</em></p><p>“Bring me to the personnel who slaughtered the trespassing humans, will you?”</p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Sen strides into the kitchen; it’s full of steam and the scent of soy sauce and sugar, the acidic tang of lemon and the clarity of green onion.</p><p>The frog foreman mills behind her. She can feel the trepidation and fear coming off of him like a physical stench.</p><p> </p><p>In human circles, the scene would’ve looked silly. Sen is the smallest out of all the staff; she looks like she could be the littlest sister of the bath house girls, but for the richness of the silk of her dress and belt. As she strode, people came alive with anticipation in her presence: for every act would have <em>consequence.</em></p><p>Even though it’s supposed to be peak hour of preparation, the staff slow down in their duties, following her with their gaze. </p><p> </p><p>“Over there, Sen-sama,” The foreman gestures, webbed fingers pointing in the direction of three frogs stirring a cauldron of miso soup. </p><p>The three look at the both of them in varying degrees of alarm, and as Sen draws closer, they collectively bow.</p><p>Sen can feel the rest of the kitchen breath a collective sigh of relief in back of her, and she raises a hand, dismissing the foreman behind her. Hearing him scuttle, she feels him and the rest of the staff get back to work.</p><p>“I understand you used untransformed human in this,” She says flatly to the three frogs.</p><p>“Oh, erm-” One of the frogs begins, but the one beside him scoffed. “I <em> understand </em> that the concept might not be to your <em> liking, Mistress Sen, </em>but it tastes exactly like the transformed kind. They’re only vermin fit for eating, anyway. We boiled them in the purifying water until you could no longer taste their filth. They’re delicious.”</p><p>Sen looks at him. “You tasted it?” Something is boiling under her skin, like magma. They used the water to boil away their <em> filth? </em></p><p>The frogs look at each other, and shrug. “I don’t see the problem here,” the same one replied.</p><p>“I suppose you think it’s fine to feed unsuspecting customers,” Sen says slowly. “I suppose that when the gods grow a taste for human flesh, it’s none of your business.”</p><p>“Well, it tastes pretty much like pig. Except for the impurities.” Another frog piped up. </p><p>This enraged Sen. <em> A newborn spirit  would know that there’s more to it than that. It doesn’t matter what it tastes like; the hunger for human would grow strong and green, rooting in the spirit’s psyche. A god would be full of horror for craving their worshippers, but even that would wash away in time, because they had at last tasted the forbidden.  </em></p><p>“Humans have grown too arrogant, anyway, in their world.” the one before scoffed. “They need to be culled.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Culled. Like cattle, </em> Sen thinks. <em> Like pigs.  </em></p><p><em> Why do I feel so protective of the humans? </em>The indifference of the frogs felt alien to her- even regular gods wouldn’t feel this amount of rage-</p><p>The thread hums, and her thoughts fall silent. Then:</p><p>
  <em>Because my thread is tied… to.. A human? It is, isn’t it?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>But enough was enough.</p><p>“Which one of you tasted the soup?”</p><p> </p><p>At last, they seem to feel the quiet menace: their complexions drain.</p><p>The frogs look at each other, and in a moment, shove the first frog that had spoken up forward. He’d grown ashy in his growing distress, silent throughout the sneering exchange. “He was the one who suggested it,” one of them adds, and Sen <em> knows its a lie. </em></p><p>She’s stood in their presence for long enough; she knows which ones have tasted the soup. Sen can feel the tainted water in their bloated stomachs. But even if she didn’t, their exchange would have proven suspicious. <em> Greedy of you to think you can fool me, </em>she thinks.</p><p>The frog sinks to his knees. “Please, Mistress, I didn’t- I didn’t-”</p><p>But he is interrupted: the frogs beside him begin to scream- in bellows and ribbits. It draws the attention of the staff; they look at the other two in horror. “Go outside,” Sen tells them, and turning colors, the frogs stumble out the kitchen doors to their death. </p><p>The frog on his knees looks at her with pure terror. Sen gently lays a hand on his shoulder, and raises her voice. <em>This needs to get under control. Now.</em></p><p>“Apologies to everyone who is working so hard,” she begins. “The two that left had created untransformed human soup.” </p><p>Mutters begin; most of them alarmed and disgusted that they could have been eating something filthy. </p><p>“As you know,” Sen continues, “Yubaba transforms the humans that are here, to prevent problems with the customers and staff. There is a curse to prevent any personnel and customers leaving alive having eaten untransformed human. After all, nothing like that can stain the reputation of the proud establishment that we work for. It’s regrettable,” she gestures towards the back door, “But our two workers have become examples of such a curse.”</p><p>Muttering had become quite loud; most of them had stopped work completely, all of them excitedly, worriedly talking about the news. </p><p>“I have to say,” she declares: this draws a hush. “It’ll be up to you going forward, but I don’t think I can eat even <em> transformed </em> human after seeing that.”</p><p>There is another beat of silence, then- chuckling. </p><p>The staff, for the first time, seem to ease up in her presence- oddly enough, <em> this </em>was what broke the ice. Work is already beginning to resume, but she knows that it had been significantly delayed. “I’m sorry to ask everyone,” she begins again apologetically,  “but you’ll have to replace the cursed soup and hurry on the double for our customers. In exchange, when the night is over, I’d like meet up with all of you again, like this.”</p><p>“Yes, Mistress Sen,” most of them assent in various ways. Smiling a little, she turns back to the frog, still kneeling.</p><p>“You’ve done well not to lie to me,” she says gently. “I know you didn’t eat the soup.” </p><p>The frog bursts into tears. <em> Relief, </em>she recognizes. “Th-thank you,” he hiccups. “I’m s-so glad I didn’t get cursed.”</p><p><em> Well, I’m the curse in question, </em> Sen thinks to herself, still smiling. <em> But no need to let anyone know that. Yubaba can take the blame for this one. </em>“Yes. You would’ve died, probably painfully.” she replies, voice still gentle. “Unfortunately, you did go along with it, so there will likely be repercussions. However, I’ll put in a good word for you for Yubaba. You can have the rest of the night off,” she adds. </p><p>The frog clasps her hand, and still crying, simply bows, and getting up off of the stone floor, rushes off.</p><p><em> Well, </em> she thinks, rubbing the back of her head, <em> This has been quite a night. </em>Still, it wasn’t over just yet.</p><p>*</p><p>As promised, the staff gather once more in the kitchen. Some of them had even brought friends, to Sen’s amusement. </p><p>“I appreciate all of you working so hard to keep operations running smoothly, despite the disruption.” She announces. “I apologize for coming in the middle of your work night- and you did a good job of disposing of the soup.”</p><p>“Yeah, it’d put a bit more of a damper on operations if we’d <em> all </em> succumbed to the curse,” one of them piped up, leading to laughter. Sen smiles, relaxing. “Yes, it’d be a <em> bit </em> bad if Yubaba came back to the bath house in shambles, wouldn’t it?” she adds, to much laughter. </p><p>“Alright,” she announces, clapping her hands. “For everyone who worked so hard tonight, you’re getting double the pay of tonight’s wages- right from my paycheck, so don’t worry about Yubaba. I wanted to let you all know that I appreciated you tonight.”</p><p>Murmurs of appreciation. Some of them are made of greed, but Sen politely ignores it. “I look forward to working with you in the future!” she finishes, and as she looks around, most of them are smiling.</p><p>*</p><p>About a week later:</p><p>“Humans, eh?” Yubaba says from behind her. Sen turns. Yubaba looks oddly swollen; her limbs seem stiff, and her stomach has swelled, as if she’d been eating a lot. Sen’s eyes narrow suspiciously, but she answers: “They seem to be under the impression that there is a curse on eating non-transformed humans now, yes.”</p><p>Yubaba waddles over to the desk, dropping her magic cloak on the floor like so much litter. She swipes up her pipe, and using her bare thumb, lights it. “Your fault,” she grunts, and takes a deep inhale of the substance. </p><p>Sen watches, narrow eyed. “Yes,” she acquiesced, and Yubaba cackles, long and deep, plucking the stem out of her mouth.</p><p>“Good job. I knew those idiots would try something. If they’d been allowed to run amok, we would’ve had man-eating gods spread to the four directions. Though <em> I </em> don’t care about humans,” she deeply inhales the pipe once more, and exhales with a perfumed sigh, “Enough do. You yourself are an example.”</p><p>Sen is silent, but she agrees. </p><p>“Should I actually make it a curse?” Yubaba asks the ceiling. Smoke emanates from her nostrils.</p><p>“Probably,” Sen admits, and while Yubaba laughs, she cracks a small smile. </p><p>“What’d you do to those fools?” Yubaba asks. “I boiled them from the inside out,” Sen answers.</p><p>“What a vengeful little girl,” Yubaba remarks, but she’s smiling. “Very well. Boiling from the inside out it is. But I only saw two graves. What happened to the third?”</p><p>Ah. She’d hoped to avoid this, in truth. “What do you mean?”</p><p>Yubaba waggles the pipe stick at her </p><p>“Don’t be coy with me, Sen. I know this place better than you, though you’re a diligent student. I <em> know </em> it takes three men to man a pot of soup.”</p><p>“He’s alive,” Sen admits.</p><p>“What for? Had an attack of mercy, did you?” Yubaba raises her massive eyebrows, and Sen shrugs. “Well, the staff seems less afraid of you. I don’t know what <em> that </em> took, but to do that <em> despite </em>killing two of their members is a feat. I will let it go this once. But..”</p><p>Sen blinks.</p><p>“<em> But </em>,” Yubaba repeats. “You and I know that that man will face repercussions.”</p><p>Sen nods reluctantly. Even though she’d warned him of said repercussions, in truth, she felt he wasn’t much of a threat. </p><p>“But you still want to spare him,” Yubaba says thoughtfully. “Fine,” she adds after a moment. “I’ll only reduce his transformation.”</p><p>Most of the workers here had something approaching humanoid figures. It was something of great pride, especially if you were only mere beasts. Yubaba had transformed them as part of the contract in order for them to become more useful to her- and to raise her profile. For them, it was sweetening the deal. If they ever managed to remember their names, they’d keep their new looks.</p><p>It’d be a blow, but it was better than death.</p><p>“He should get a promotion,” Sen adds, and Yubaba takes out the pipe from where she was chewing on it. “<em>Hah?!</em> Where is the cold and merciless dragon that scared all my staff and customers? Did the sight of human soup cause you to lose your mind?”</p><p>“<em> He didn’t lie to me </em> ,” Sen states, and Yubaba deflates slightly. It was an understandable point for most gods, as she knew well. “Oh, <em> very well. </em>What do you have in mind?”</p><p>“He can be chief greeter at the doors,” Sen says, and Yubaba blinks. “Oh, <em> that’s </em> clever. You want him out of the kitchen, don’t you?”</p><p>Sen shrugs and apologetically smiles, and Yubaba bursts into cackling again. “Not much he can do if all he’s doing is ribbiting <em> Irashaimase </em>!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much to those who left feedback, kudos, and more! You are truly a joy.</p><p>So one thing that I wanted to explore was how things came to be in canon, to provide some good backstory and what Chihiro/Sen's role in them was before Haku comes to the Bath House. I'm going to explore Boh, Kamaji and Lin, and of course Yubaba in her relationships with them- and eventually, what changes when Haku comes to the bath house. I thought it would be interesting to show how that one small frog on the bridge came to be, and why he's a frog, but the others are weirdly humanoid.</p><p>I really love writing Strong!Sen, but of course, she's still Sen. We'll get into some very juicy emotional moments soon.</p><p>I think Yubaba and Sen have a love hate relationship, but one thing they do is at least respect each other. Unfortunately, Sen doesn't remember what got her there, so that will lead to it's own problems. I can't wait to see your reactions! If you like it, please leave reviews down below.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. and within every dewdrop, a world of struggle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The difficulty was, Sen thinks to herself, what was improbable wasn’t <em>impossible</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you <em>enjoy</em> me collecting your bile, Yubaba?” She asks wearily, and the great witch snorts.<br/>“Not so much as you’d think, Dragon. While it is flattering to have you as my nursemaid, it’s ruined by me having to experience this level of indignity.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why on <em> earth </em> are you <em> sick </em>?” Sen <em>suspects</em>, but she’d rather hear it for herself.</p><p>Sure enough: “None of your business, Sen.” Yubaba grunts, drawing herself up, tottering off to her desk, magicking away the bile around her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“Would it kill you to dispose of this as well?” Sen holds up the bucket, and Yubaba snorts, not even looking in her direction.<br/>“Fat chance. It’s the only time I can make you do something you <em> actually </em>don’t like. The rest of it is just annoying to you.”</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, this assessment was right on the nose, Sen silently agrees, and wrinkling her nose, slowly begins the process of purifying the sick.</p><p> </p><p>Somewhere to the side of her, she hears Yubaba scribbling. “Get this down to Kamaji,” she hears next, and raising her head, sees Yubaba holding out a piece of paper. Pausing in her purification, Sen takes the sheet and folds it into the fold of her dress.</p><p><br/>“I’ve never met him before,” Sen comments, and Yubaba grunts. <em> Not feeling up for conversation, I take it. </em></p><p> </p><p>Setting the half-finished bucket down, she takes it as her leave, and Yubaba groans. “Don’t be <em> sly, </em>Sen. Take the damn thing <em> with </em> you. Before I throw up again. It stinks.”</p><p> </p><p>Grinning slightly, Sen picks it up again. “Thought you might want to have it while I was gone, for that reason.”</p><p>Yubaba groans, even louder. “Just take it.”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>As Sen pads her way to the boiler room, she basks in the sunlight. It’s quiet and serene; and somehow nostalgic. As she climbs down the wooden steps, she looks out at the great blue beyond, looking at the red houses where they housed the pigs.</p><p><em> Humans on the riverbank, </em>something says inside her. It’s a quiet and powerful longing, and sweeps through her like a tidal wave. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Red umbrellas with sunlight pouring like cherries through the oiled paper, little hands grabbing for tadpoles through the shore of her body and missing every time-  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It stops quite suddenly, with a jarring jolt that she knows is magic. <em> What was that? </em>She wonders. It felt very important.</p><p>To her alarm, as she searched couldn’t even remember that brief experience. It was like an empty gap in her memories from five seconds ago.</p><p>Unsettled, she looks away from the water, and begins walking downstairs.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>Sen was vaguely curious to see what a spider elder gaining a human form would look like to begin with. </p><p> </p><p>As it turns out, it was simultaneously what she expected, and not. </p><p> </p><p>Kamaji looks at her behind his sunglasses. He looks like someone’s elderly uncle, albeit with too many arms. <em> Gave you two to protect your eyes from the damage of the flame easier, didn’t she? </em> Sen thinks to herself. “Who’re <em> you </em>?” Kamaji asks, and Sen blinks.</p><p>It’s more brusque than she expects. And a lot less fearful. </p><p>“I’m Sen,” she replies, a little nonplussed.</p><p><br/>Kamaji appears to peer over his glasses.</p><p>“Sen? Why the hell is a <em> dragon </em>coming down to my boiler room? You Yubaba’s newest recruit?”</p><p>“I suppose so,” Sen replies slowly. </p><p> </p><p>The animated soot seem to be dodging her with rather admirable speed, given the fact that they were holding truly heavy rocks with nothing but magic. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, don’t waste my time. What are you here for?”</p><p>Fishing around in her kimono, Sen holds out the paper. “Yubaba asked for some herbs.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, the old lady did now did she?” Kamaji replies irritably. “Doesn’t she know that I’m already busy making everyone’s bath water?” Still, he adjusts his glasses with one bony hand, plucking the outstretched paper out of her hand. “Hrm… let’s see.” Peering down at the paper, Sen watches as a long arm comes towards her. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, <em> get out of the way </em> ,” Kamaji orders, sounding cranky. As Sen moves, she colors slightly: Kamaji was keeping the entire bath house’s stock in the wall behind her. <em> Oops, </em>she admits to herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, I figured out why your name sounds familiar,” Kamaji suddenly announces. Sen looks back towards him, but he’s still looking at the shelves. “You’re the one that Lin is scared shitless of. But you gave her money, so it’s gotten better.”</p><p> </p><p><em> I… sure. </em>This assessment was probably shared by every staff in the bath house. Except for Yubaba. And now Kamaji, apparently. </p><p>She clears her throat hesitantly. “Not to be rude, but why…”</p><p>“Arent I the same way?” Kamaji finishes, still absorbed in their paper. She nods, but it’s unseen. Still, he continues: “You haven’t <em> done </em> anything to me yet. No point in worrying over something that’s only a possibility. I’d rather not lose sleep over it.”</p><p> </p><p>Relief flushes through her. “Right!” She exclaims before she can help herself. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh? Don’t tell me that you don’t <em> enjoy </em> all of those staffers bowing and scraping to you,” Kamaji says dryly, fist full of herbs as it withdraws. Sen colors pink.</p><p>“Well, no.” She says, huffy.</p><p> </p><p>“Tough luck,” Kamaji gruffly remarks, turning away to begin grinding. “You’re one of the most powerful beings they’ll ever meet in their lives. They’re going to fear you.”</p><p> </p><p>“It wasn’t like this before!” Sen bursts out, and claps her hands over her mouth in astonishment. <em> Before? What was before? </em></p><p> </p><p>“... I’ll pretend that you didn’t say anything just then,” Kamaji says slowly. “Understand, it was for the better that it happened like this.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen lowers her hands. “What do you mean?”</p><p>A loud sigh, and the sound of the stone rolling slows to a halt.</p><p>“I mean that if they <em> didn’t </em> fear you, you’d have a very hard time in this bath house. You’re enslaved, dragon, but you’re not like the rest of us. If they <em> didn’t </em> fear you, you’d be torn apart while they guzzled at you, desperate for your power.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen is silent. Kamaji uses two of his hands to run them over his bald head, with a loud sigh, mortar and pestle returning to running in the background. “Kid, just watch yourself. You’re doing good so far.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” Sen murmurs, subdued. “Don’t mention it,” Kamaji says gruffly. “Lin was sad that she couldn’t bring me to get the bonus you gave and she had the kitchens bring me an extra large dinner. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the reason I had five extra pieces of shrimp tempura.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen cracks a shy smile, and Kamaji shows two of his hands giving her a thumbs-up. </p><p> </p><p>But as the stone wheel rolled, the smoke of the boiler room was pierced with a pungent mixture of herbs, and Sen’s nostrils flare.<br/>In front of her, unseen, lay all the confirmation she needed.</p><p>“<em>Pregnancy herbs,” </em>she hisses out. </p><p> </p><p>She was so distracted by Kamaji that she nearly missed the confirmation she had been seeking; Kamaji looks up at her again. </p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t know?”</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Over the course of time, Sen finds herself down in Kamaji’s room again. And again. And again. </p><p>Yubaba hasn’t mentioned the pregnancy to Sen at all, despite the growing evidence of what appears to be obvious, and Sen has no intention of breaking the silence.</p><p>Because Yubaba flies out dutifully all the time, presumably for work, and Sen would be forced to ask her to stop for the health of the baby. </p><p> </p><p>But they’re both millennia old, and they both know that Yubaba can’t- and wouldn’t- stop. They’re both powerful beings in their own right, and something like pregnancy wouldn’t hold them back.</p><p> </p><p>Besides, Sen doesn’t even <em> like </em>Yubaba. </p><p> </p><p>Sen rests her head against the wooden slab of Kamaji’s work station as Kamaji works, grinding the herbs. <br/><br/></p><p>“She’s got you working like a dog, hasn’t she?” Kamaji calls over the roar of the fireplace, and Sen shifts in her spot. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Sen replies, and not for the first time, registers just how <em> tired </em>she is. She yawns.</p><p> </p><p>“I heard from Lin that you nearly came to blows with that mountain spirit that came by the night before.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen’s eyes feel very heavy. “It was a valley spirit. Still.”</p><p> </p><p>“The staff are still talking about it. You weren’t happy that he was making the girls uncomfortable, were you?”</p><p> </p><p>Sen grunts, and shifts upright. “He can go find women that would <em> accept </em> his advances <em> elsewhere. </em> Besides, even if the girls here <em> did </em> want him, it’d be a violation of the contract. You can’t work here <em> and </em>get married- Yubaba’s too clever for that. But he was just a creep. I found a girl crying.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, good for you,” Kamaji rumbles. “I heard he wet his pants running out the door.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen laughs. “Nothing so dramatic. He did give us extra money for our troubles, though. I split it up between the girls serving him. Yubaba demanded the full payment, but I talked her down from that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hard to believe that the old lady could ever bear to part from money like that.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen shrugs. “It was difficult for her to negotiate while her head was in a bucket. One that I was holding.”</p><p> </p><p>The narrow sliding door to the rest of the bath house slams open, making Sen jump. </p><p>“Kamaji! I’ve got your food!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, thank you,” Kamaji pipes up, already grasping the used breakfast tray to give to the lady. </p><p>As Sen turns, she sees a tall, pretty bath house girl emerging from the doorway- who catches sight of Sen, and promptly bashes her head into the wooden beams. </p><p>The miso soup sloshes out on the new tray, and Sen rushes over, worried about the safety of Kamaji’s lunch. “Careful!” She lightly admonishes the girl, taking ahold of the tray, allowing the woman to cradle her head. “Are you okay?” She asks the girl worriedly, who raises her head. </p><p> </p><p>“You!” She says quite loudly, pointing her finger at Sen.</p><p> </p><p>It’s not said with any malice, mostly with just surprise, Sen thinks. “Me,” she agrees, feeling a bit off balance. Padding over, she hands over the new tray to Kamaji, who hands her in turn the old with murmurs of thanks. </p><p> </p><p>Kneeling before the girl, Sen hands her the used breakfast tray. She accepts it without so much a murmur, staring at Sen in shock.</p><p> </p><p>They stay there so long that Sen ventures, “What’s… what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl back pedals. “Oh, nothing- nothing’s <em>wrong</em>. What are you doing <em> here </em>though, Mistress Sen?”</p><p> </p><p>“We were having a nice chat,” Kamaji pipes up, and a rush of pure fondness surges through Sen like a wave. <em> Not “she’s here on Yubaba’s orders” or even “picking up medicine.” </em>He seized on the heart of what mattered to her, which was his company.</p><p>She beams at Kamaji, ignoring the shock of the girl beside her. </p><p> </p><p>“A nice chat- <em>her</em>?” Bewildered, the girl rubs her head absently- probably still sore. “I guess?” She says, mostly to herself. “Thanks for helping Akifumi earlier,” she says awkwardly to Sen, who waves it off. “Glad I could help out,” Sen replies, smiling. </p><p> </p><p>Darting uncertain looks at Sen, the girl takes her leave, deeply bowing in her direction as she exits the boiler room. </p><p>Sen stares at the closed sliding door.</p><p>“Was that Lin?”</p><p>“Sure was.”</p><p> </p><p>As Sen left the boiler room, packet of medicine in hand, she mulls over what had happened.</p><p> </p><p>Sen finds that she likes Kamaji rather a lot, she thinks. He was a comforting presence, despite his gruffness. Their disparity of power still made Kamaji wary at times, but most of the time, she enjoyed the opportunity to sit down with this old man and groan about the daily dramas of bath house work. He seemed to enjoy the banter, too- probably because he wasn’t able to leave his station for long.</p><p>Kamaji was probably the closest thing she felt to a peer in her entire life.</p><p> </p><p>Smiling, she makes her way back up to Yubaba.</p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>What greeted her in the ornate office was startling:</p><p>Yubaba was prone on the floor, wheezing with pain.</p><p>“Hey!” Sen exclaims, running over to her. “What’s happened? Is it the baby-?”</p><p>Yubaba cracks open one large lid. Her breath is still coming in tight bursts, as if being squeezed out. “So...you.. <em> did </em> know.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen’s face flattens out, and for a moment, there’s silence between the two. “Yes,” she replies, shortly. “Should I call a doctor?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubaba, fast as a snake wraps her long fingers around Sen’s throat, squeezing. It’s uncomfortable, but even snapping Sen’s neck wouldn’t kill her, so Sen glares at Yubaba, even as the grip tightens to a vice.</p><p>“Call <em> no one.” </em> Yubaba hisses, and smiles. “ <em> You’re </em>helping me deliver this baby.” </p><p><em> I’m not a fucking midwife, </em> Sen wants to reply, but she’s busy being choked. Irritated, she grasps Yubaba’s fingers, and <em> talons-shred-rend, bristling fury and flared nostrils- </em></p><p>Yubaba lets go with a gasp, and Sen flicks the witches blood on the carpet with a look of slight disgust. She raises her hand; it’s still covered in it. Sighing with irritation, she looks down at Yubaba, who, in addition to suffering bleeding fingers, was curling up in pain.</p><p> </p><p>“Witch,” Sen sighs, though her voice is hoarse from being choked. “What are you so <em> desperate </em> over? You didn’t have to <em> choke </em> me to get your point across.” she clears her throat, but it’s little use. “I don’t know how to deliver your baby, you know.”</p><p>Yubaba shakes her head. “Only one- that <em> can.” </em>The contractions seemed to be getting close together, and water gushes out of Yubaba, pooling on the carpet like a geyser.</p><p>“Oh for-” Sen sighs, then changes tact. “Is your bath clean enough?”</p><p> </p><p>Yubaba nods, and with a grunt, Sen picks her up, albeit with some difficulty. In her human form, her muscles weren’t nearly as developed as her dragon form. “Where is the father?” Sen wheezes.</p><p>“Won’t be coming.”</p><p>“Fine,” Sen mutters. </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>“You know Dragon, I’m glad that we met.” Yubaba says to Sen.</p><p>Sen is knee deep in questionable liquid as she kneels, trying to catch the baby. Shit brushes the side of her leg, but she ignores it. There’d be more afterwards, when the baby arrived.</p><p>She looks up at Yubaba tiredly, and the witch, far from being the force of nature she usually was, looked drawn and pale with pain. It’s likely the most vulnerable she’s ever seen Yubaba, and she looks down again.</p><p>It’s probably the nicest thing that Yubaba’s ever said to her.</p><p> </p><p>But it doesn’t erase the contract, doesn’t erase the fact that Yubaba had done <em> something </em> to land her in slavery, and doesn’t erase the fact that Sen’s neck is turning green and blue from the death grip Yubaba had on it half an hour earlier.</p><p>Nonetheless, she’d rather hear the gratitude than not, Sen decides.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll forgive me if I can’t return the sentiment while I’m <em> kneeling in your shit </em>,” Sen replies dryly, and Yubaba offers a tight smile of humor, despite the obvious pain. She accepted Sen’s position, and Sen knows that she’s freed from further expression of mutual support.<br/><br/></p><p>The head of the baby crowns, and Yubaba lets forth a guttural scream. “More,” Sen exclaims, urgent.</p><p> </p><p>There is an odd feeling of a profound unease that has penetrated the air.</p><p> </p><p>The baby slides forth into Sen’s waiting arms, and as she slices the cord, it opens its mouth.</p><p> </p><p>Deathly shrieks vibrate through and <em> in </em> Sen, power like a physical thing rolling forth until Sen’s knocked back against the nearby wall, gasping for air. Her arms are still clutching the child, and something tells her, <em> let go let go let go- </em></p><p> </p><p>But she doesn’t do that. </p><p><em> Settle down, </em> she roars, or says, and the air crackles and sparks in the little room, with answering power rolling off like ozone. As she stares down at the little one in her arms, her head begins squeezing- and her vision narrows, as if looking down a very long tunnel.</p><p>As the black eyes of the child roll up to meet her own, a little hand reaches upwards.</p><p> </p><p>Cautiously, she touches it with her finger, and the baby <em> smiles, </em> toothless. <em> Well met, Dragon, </em>the baby says, and the power surrounding them sucks back into the baby until nothing is left, but for the roiling energy beneath it’s skin.</p><p>Then the baby begins to cry in earnest: Sen flinches, waiting for more to come.</p><p>Then:</p><p><em> Knowledge </em>pours through her, making her gasp. <em>The seas being used as bath water, the world cracking like an egg in enormous palms, images of Yubaba and a strange man-</em></p><p> </p><p>Sen gags, kneeling on the cold marble floor, ripping her finger out of the baby’s grasp. The flow of thoughts stops, and with difficulty, she staggers to her feet, laying the child on Yubaba’s chest.</p><p> </p><p>Sen collapses soon after, sitting on the cold floor, panting.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>When,” </em> she wheezes, <em> “were you going to tell me you were pregnant with the likes of a heavenly deity?” </em></p><p> </p><p>Yubaba grunts, mid-push of the placenta. It feels somehow mundane in comparison. “You’re a pretty shitty mid-wife, Dragon. Abandoning your duties after-“</p><p> </p><p><em> “Answer the question! Before or after you destroyed the bath house?” </em>Sen roars.</p><p> </p><p>Yubaba actually <em> tsks </em> at her, before sucking in a sharp inhale. “ <em> This </em>was why you needed to deliver him,” She says sharply. “Do you think any of the employees would’ve survived that?”</p><p> </p><p>Sen is silent. Mute and angry, she begins vanishing the contents of the tub wordlessly, flicking her fingers.</p><p>“I know what I’ve done,” Yubaba says tiredly. “But I love him.”</p><p><em> You don’t know what love is, you heartless hag, </em> Sen thinks viciously. <em> Or you wouldn’t have nearly leveled this place. </em>Acidly, she replies, “So much for love, if he couldn’t be bothered to show up to the birth of his own son.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Yubaba sounds genuinely surprised, and Sen is about to scold Yubaba for being willfully naive, when Yubaba begins laughing.</p><p>“Oh, Sen. Not his <em> donor. </em> I love this <em> child. </em> I’ve been waiting for him for a very long time.”</p><p> </p><p>Oh.</p><p>There wasn’t much to be said about that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I lost my favorite editing app, so this chapter is a little more unedited than usual, sorry!<br/>I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who appreciated badass Sen in the bath house! Lololol I was mildly nervous to see everyone's responses, but I'm glad you all liked her. <br/>In this chapter we explore further her relationship with Yubaba, but we also bring into play Kamaji and Lin. I loved writing about Kamaji... he has zero fucks LOLLLL and he's just such a dear, dear grandpa figure. </p><p>I LOVED his original dynamic with Chihiro, so I wanted to bring some of that back somewhat. I was also curious to see what his relationship was with canon Haku. Also, Lin loll.... don't worry, we'll explore further her future relationship with Sen. I loved her in canon, but who didn't? Best older sister.</p><p>Any thoughts and comments about the new chapter would be greatly appreciated! What do you think of Boh? Sen and Yubaba's fucked up relationship? lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. I erase, write, rewrite</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sen releases a shuddering exhale into her futon.</p><p>Mercifully, the magic barriers had held on the office. Yubaba had probably layered them without her knowing in preparation for the day.</p><p>The witch had allowed her to take a day off following the birth of her son, in a rare display of mercy. Though, it wasn’t like she had much of a choice: Sen was extremely weak from trying to contain the explosion, and had taken the brunt of it- Any display of weakness from Sen could lead eventually to revolt, or discovering the birth of Yubaba’s child. </p><p><br/>The former being that while Sen had grown to be a decent boss that was simultaneously loved, feared and relied on, it would not protect Yubaba. Yubaba was notorious for being.. Well, herself. She was greedy, cruel, extravagant at the expense of her workers, and though the prestige gained after working for her was a sight better than where they started, the price for gaining it was incredibly steep.</p><p> </p><p>Many would take it as an excuse to terminate their contracts by taking the child hostage, Sen thinks weakly. Or worse, attempt to devour the child themselves and become a god.</p><p>Sen had little love for Yubaba, but the child was innocent in the matter. After all, it hadn’t asked to be placed in this awkward position.</p><p> </p><p>Yubaba knew that, of course. And she knew Sen wasn’t greedy. So Sen’s hands were tied. </p><p> </p><p>Still, the day of rest offered a rare moment of respite that Sen could not afford to take for granted. </p><p>The work was something that was all consuming: she barely had enough time to eat most days, let alone think for herself.</p><p> </p><p>Sen’s absence was explained by her “running errands for Yubaba,” so it wouldn’t be remarked on. Unfortunately, this also meant going without food, probably. Sen was too tired to cast a spell of invisibility.</p><p> </p><p><em> What do I know?  </em>Sen wonders, staring up at the ceiling. The contract had eaten significant holes in her memory, but there were a few things that she remembered, and a few things that lingered from the world outside of the bath house.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> My name contains “Sen,” at least. It’s not much, but I can eventually work backwards from that point. I’m a dragon. I have some affiliation to  water, though it’s difficult to say the how and where by now. I’m a powerful dragon, so it would’ve been a major connection in the human world, somewhere.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>I’m connected to a human somehow, through a string of fate. I remember a name, but I know it’s not mine. Kohaku. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There was a shoe for some reason. And… green eyes. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Sometimes the contract has lapses. But I can’t remember them afterwards.  </em>
</p><p>Much like a drunk forgets the night, the flashes of memory would not be recorded for review afterwards.</p><p>
  <em> I have some kind of affinity for humans. I dislike eating them, so I wasn’t a man eating god. I don’t even like them being turned into pigs, but I can’t speak up about it without Yubaba coming down on my head. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> I don’t know how long I’ve been here, though I think I did when I initially started.<br/>...It could be anywhere from three to four years to fifty years. </em>It wasn’t a terrible estimate, given how long lived everyone was. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I belonged somewhere before I came here.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sen closes her eyes. <em> Why did I make that contract? It had to have been for a good reason if I gave up my name and memories. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I think I wasn’t feared until I came here. But I don’t remember much at all.  </em>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Time passes, as it must. Sen returned to work, and Yubaba turned into a mother. Keeping it secret was difficult, but not impossible.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, it often came at Sen’s expense.</p><p> </p><p>Boh, as Yubaba named him, was often left alone during Yubaba’s trips. Sometimes Sen thinks Yubaba took them to escape the duty of being a newborn’s mother, but given the amount of times both she and Yubaba had woken up at odd hours due to Boh’s needs- that she <em> knew </em>about- she couldn’t ultimately blame Yubaba for that.</p><p> </p><p>She <em> could </em> blame Yubaba for apparently leaving her son a sense of sadism. </p><p> </p><p>“Play with me,” Boh says, holding the enormous chair over Sen’s foot, which Boh held in the other hand.</p><p> </p><p>Boh had gained mental clarity quite quickly- though not the unnerving presence Sen first had encountered- and incredible strength to match his quickly growing physique, which had already reached her height, and three times her width.</p><p> </p><p>Ordinarily, Sen wouldn’t care about shaking that level of grip off. The problem was Yubaba. </p><p>Yubaba would rain hell on her for harming her precious boy, and dismiss her shattered foot, because Sen could repair it, and her baby couldn’t. </p><p> </p><p>Still, it would be excruciating until she did, and would drain her to do it.</p><p> </p><p>The main difficulty was that Sen saw a fast-approaching, looming problem. Boh was immensely spoiled by Yubaba, because to put it bluntly, Yubaba’s own power was dwarfed by her own child. </p><p> </p><p>Yubaba both loved her child and feared him, and raised him above all else. She loved him in the way fanatics love gods, and left Sen to deal with most of the fallout.</p><p> </p><p>So Sen, being the only other person Boh saw, tried to exercise her limitations to give Boh some humility.</p><p> </p><p>“You know I can’t play with you if you hold my foot like that, right?” She remarks dryly, and Boh, blessedly let go of her foot, eyes blinking and wide. </p><p> </p><p>She smiles at Boh. “Boh, if you want to play with other people, you can’t grab their limbs like that, okay? It’s not how people play. People won’t want to play with you if you do that.”</p><p> </p><p>Boh looks ready to cry, so Sen claps her hands. <em> Honestly, it’s a pity that he’s so huge, he doesn’t have a great understanding of pain. It doesn’t help Yubaba’s just about turned this place into an enormous futon.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“So instead, let’s play chores, okay? This is what people do outside when they want to show that they’re extra good and fun to play with.” <em> It’s only a bit of a lie.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Boh sniffles, but seems to be clearing up. “This is a secret from your mom, okay? I’m letting you do grown up stuff.” Sen adds, still smiling. </p><p> </p><p>Boh smiles back, and Sen knows she’s won. “Okay, Boh! Whoever can put your toys away faster gets to decide the first game!” </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>Sen staggers out of the playroom, having at last exhausted Boh, and looks out at the sight before her. </p><p>Dawn rises through the balcony window, softening the edges of the hardwood, lending them a pale pink luster. </p><p>Her vision blurs, and nausea rises along with it. She claps a hand to her mouth, sinking to the floor to steady herself. <em>I have to stay awake, </em>she reminds herself. It had been two days since she slept; ever since Yubaba had departed. The workload was immense- too intense to allot for rest. Between her usual duties, which were already more than enough for her, she'd taken on Yubaba's work as well, and with Boh in the mix...</p><p>Her vision clears up a bit as she sits, though not by much. The nausea was still present. </p><p><em>I still have to do paperwork. </em>Groaning, she forces herself to stand. </p><p>As she does so, magic gathers around her in a cloud, and she inhales. "<em>Time is a river, and so you'll never cross the same river twice- but with a bridge, you can traverse each side as many times as you wish..."</em></p><p>Her stomach settles, and her vision returns to it's usual clarity. </p><p>She'd tried other spells, but this was the one that worked the best. The scroll spoke of a higher than normal cost, but long as she could put it off until Yubaba's return, it'd do.</p><p>*</p><p>The spell was wearing off again: Sen can feel peeling at the edges like old paper, the way her vision would drift out of focus as she walks across the light wood, the way her hearing goes in and out, like a bad radio, at the end of the night. It was nearly time to take care of Boh again- She'd been going up and down all night to keep track of the kid, but soon, the main services of the bath house would slow to a halt, and she would have to take care of him in earnest, when he was at his most awake. </p><p>Yubaba was scheduled to return the following night. </p><p>Just one more spell, she promises herself. Then she'd deal with it later.</p><p>"He's awake," The door knocker informs her rather curtly. <em>You're late, </em>it doesn't say. Blearily, she peers at it. "Has he destroyed anything?"</p><p>"Not much," The door knocker admits, and she stifles the urge to roll her eyes. "Then it doesn't matter, does it? I'll find it in a minute."</p><p>The door obediently swings open, and yawning, she strolls in, already gathering magic. She knows better than to perform magic in front of the staff or guests, so the office it was. It glitters around her, unseen, like sunlight on a current. Magic had a warmth to it that could be felt, though not seen. It was different then raw power, because magic dealt in the things that could be and what wasn't, where power was a fact, a consequence, a result.</p><p>She inhales, and prepares to draw it in. "<em>Time is like a river, </em>she says. <em>You'll never cross the same river twice, but</em> <em>If you build a bridge-"</em></p><p>Warmth trickles down her face. "-<em>you can traverse it as many times as you like-" </em></p><p>Her vision goes grey, and like a puppet with it's strings cut, collapses on the carpet. Then: red. The world goes out of focus, red slick pouring over her vision, down her face, and her whole head throbs, like the inside of a struck taiko drum. Each breath feels like glass, and her limbs have become as heavy as mountains. </p><p><em>Backlash, </em>she recognizes. She was a fool to think that only sleeping off a day or three out of the month would be enough. She'd thought <em>that </em>was the backlash, but this was more severe.</p><p>As she lies on the floor, the carpet becomes slick with blood beneath her prone form. Too exhausted to even remain awake, she closes her eyes.</p><p>*</p><p>"<em>Sen," </em>Boh calls, sounding close to hysteric tears.</p><p><em>I'm here, </em>she thinks, floating, with effort, to consciousness. The lanterns have been extinguished, and there is very little that can be seen now, in the gloom. Boh's footsteps draw closer and closer. "<em>Sen," </em>he's calling now, bawling, lost. She wishes she could answer him, but it feels like her jaw is wired shut.</p><p>Her awareness wavers in and out of being; the spell's backlash wasn't done with her yet. <em>Sleep, </em>it commands, and though she's fighting it, it's a losing battle.</p><p>Then: an enormous foot steps on her back, and with a <em>crackcrackcrack, </em>her world erupts into agony, yellow-and-black spots erupting before her eyes.</p><p>She thinks she might've shrieked. Sen breathes in short pants through the pain: as she fights the urge to writhe, tears pour down her face like sweat, mixing with the drying blood.</p><p>A motion like an earthquake: Boh is shaking her, jostling the shattered bones. Overcome, she transforms into <em>scales-teeth-fur, </em>and promptly loses consciousness again.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>When she next wakes, it's to Yubaba's face peering at her own. "You scared him," She hears, rather accusingly.</p><p>"What..?" Sen groans. "When you transformed, you moron." Yubaba snaps.</p><p>Disbelief wars with incredulity inside of her. Though she wasn't exactly expecting to be <em>coddled,</em> waking up in pain to a pissed-off Yubaba felt like a bucket of ice water being dumped on her. Despite that, Sen feels the clearest she's felt in a very long time. "He's a deity. He'll have to get used to it," Sen says, as neutrally as she can manage. "How is he?" She adds, genuinely concerned.</p><p>Yubaba sits back, and folds her arms across her chest. "He slipped and hit his head. No thanks to you. And he's gone <em>hungry."</em></p><p><em>Shit</em>. She looks away. "My back?"</p><p>Yubaba scoffs. "You'll have to heal yourself. What were you doing, lying on the floor like that? I thought that there might've been an intruder, by the looks of you."</p><p>Sen knows very well that Yubaba <em>could</em> heal her, and was <em>choosing</em> not to. It was punishment for her baby boy. "It was backlash."</p><p>Yubaba's tongue clicked with irritation. "From <em>what?" </em></p><p>Sen's mouth feels like sandpaper, and now that she was more awake, her back feels like lava. With effort, she replies, slightly acidly: "I've been using magic to stay awake. It's difficult to maintain the human form, deal with rowdy guests, maintain the bath house, take care of our work, <em>and </em>take care of Boh."</p><p>"...You've never had trouble before." Yubaba accuses, and Sen sighs.</p><p>"That was because I didn't have a heavenly deity to watch over."</p><p>Yubaba surveys her with beady eyes. With a sharp gesture in the air, three heads drop into existence; with green skin and bulging eyes. <em>For aid, </em>Sen recognizes, and for a moment, Sen hopes that she'll get a day off.</p><p>As if reading her mind, Yubaba states: "If you think that this incident gets you off of your duties, you're mistaken." Leaving her subordinate where she lay, Yubaba sweeps out of the room. The heads jump, neckless, after her. Sen watches them go, feeling mounting ire. Yubaba really was a piece of work.</p><p>Then she deflates. There wasn't much to be done now about it- only to move forward. </p><p>with a groan, the shards of her back make their way back together.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>As time went on, Yubaba would come back from her trips sourer and sourer, and spent more time with Boh, spoiling him with presents and chocolates and whatever he could ask for- and many things he didn’t. </p><p>This out a strain on both of their relationships with Sen, who was increasingly having to take even <em>more</em> of the workload from Yubaba in relation to the staff, even when she <em>was</em> in the bathhouse. </p><p>Sen was, however, receiving more rest due to Yubaba’s constant hovering over Boh, and though she would stay up until the late morning finishing paperwork in her room, she would sleep uninterrupted until her next shift.</p><p><br/>Due to her slightly freer schedule- though only just- she found herself, in an attempt at self preservation, visiting Kamaji once more for supplies. Though this time, it was for her own health, and not Yubaba's.</p><p>"Evening, Kamaji," she tiredly greets, as she slid open the wooden door, making Kamaji jump.</p><p>"Sen!"</p><p>Sen raises a hand in greeting, and Kamaji pauses mid-grind of his herbs. A bath tag drops down, but he ignores it in favor of turning his head to look at Sen in a long once-over. "Well, don't you look like shit."</p><p><em>Not one to mince words, is Kamaji, </em>Sen observes, though she agrees, wincing with a small smile. "Don't tell the staff that." </p><p>Kamaji takes a long swig of the kettle lying next to him. "Don't have to. How're they taking it?"</p><p>"Fine," Sen huffs, but it ends up as a sigh. "Except they keep thinking I'll lose it on them- they seem to take every rowdy customer now as a warning for <em>them." </em></p><p>Kamaji's eyebrows raise behind his glasses. "I don't know, <em>have</em> you been treating them rougher?"</p><p>She shrugs. "Hard to say. It's always on a case by case basis."</p><p>Kamaji grunts, setting the kettle beside him. "Well, I'm glad to see your face again. Thought you might've forgotten about me."</p><p>"Hard not to forget the only man who won't scold me for sitting down," Sen dryly replies, and Kamaji makes a pleased noise, pulling on one of the bath tags.</p><p>"What're you here for? I'm assuming not on a purely social call." Kamaji asks, not looking at her.</p><p>"I need vitality herbs."</p><p>Kamaji slowly turns. "<em>You </em>need it? Not the boss upstairs?<em>"</em></p><p>Sen colors slightly. Right, vitality herbs were often used for reproduction acts. "I need to keep up with work somehow," She replies, slightly defensively. "Yubaba added to my workload."</p><p>The spider elder peers at her. "...Lin does seem to think that you're everywhere these days," Kamaji agrees, after moment. "Fine. And I'll give you something for those dark circles, before the soot here thinks that it's a hole to hide in."</p><p> </p><p>But after that visit, Sen stopped getting requests to head into the office at all. In fact, all of the paperwork was delivered directly to her room, night after night.</p><p>*</p><p>Until one night, when she was wrapping up her shift, she was forced to give a monthly report. Yubaba had let her in very reluctantly, with a grimace.</p><p>Sen immediately realized the reason for it when Boh storms into the study mid-report and screams, deafeningly,</p><p>
  <b> <em>“I want Sen!”</em> </b>
</p><p>Poleaxed, both Yubaba and Sen stare at Boh, who had become <em>truly enormous, </em>head nearly brushing the ceiling. Sensing that they were not receptive, Boh immediately bursts into tears. A pudgy leg kicks outwards, nearly crushing his mother. </p><p>With a <em> crack, </em>the solid mahogany desk splits apart.</p><p>Dazed, Yubaba lies there.</p><p>Sensing further destruction, Sen hurries to Boh, and stands in front of him. He was truly massive now, at least the size of six men- if six men were stacked on top of each other, then sideways. “Boh! I’m here.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Sen!” </em> Boh cries, and nearly grabs her, but she steps backwards. Sen smiles up at him. <em> Please let him remember. </em>“Boh! Do you remember when I told you to not grab people like that if you want to play?”</p><p> </p><p>Boh stops mid-grab. “Oh,” he says, attempting to dry up his tears. Sen nods encouragingly. “That’s right, you remembered! Now what do we say?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry,” Boh mumbles, and Sen pats his knee, while flicking magic behind her back at Yubaba, willing her to get back up. “Your sorry is accepted,” she says cheerfully. “Do you want to help your mama get up? It looks like you hit her while you were calling for me.”</p><p> </p><p>Boh nods, wiping where his tears were falling. “Okay, Boh, hold out your hand like this!” Sen displays the gesture, and Boh copies it, blinking. “Now hold it out to your mama like this, and put it in front of her.” </p><p> </p><p>Yubaba apparently reaching clarity at last, sees Boh holding out his hand to her. “What a good boy,” Yubaba says cheerfully as well, though with a strained undertone. <em> Might be her rib that’s cracked, </em>Sen thinks. </p><p>Hauling herself to her feet, Yubaba begins flicking the office back into shape, papers flying back into their proper positions. With a groan, the desk shudders itself back together.</p><p> “Are you sure you don’t want to play with mama?” Yubaba asks Boh plaintively, while Sen wants to sigh.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I’m not sure if it’s motherhood or sheer masochism. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“I want Sen,” Boh says firmly, and Yubaba visibly deflates.</p><p>“Well-<em>well</em>, Sen is just finishing reading to me,” she stumbles, and Sen wants to laugh, but represses it. </p><p> </p><p>“Boh, why don’t you sit here with me and I’ll read both you <em> and </em> Mama grown up stuff?” She offers brightly, and with wide eyes, Boh sits, causing everything in the apartment to tremble, and begins sucking his thumb with wide eyes.</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>When Boh has been put to bed, Sen turns to Yubaba. </p><p> </p><p>“He’s gotten a <em> lot </em>bigger.” She begins, but doesn’t quite keep the accusing edge off.</p><p>Instead of blustering, Yubaba looks <em> shifty, </em>and Sen’s eyes narrow. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s been a long time now. He’s had incredible rapid growth. He should be a toddler by now, not a baby. Why?” Sen asks sharply, and Yubaba sighs. </p><p> </p><p>“Come back to the study,” she tells her tiredly, and Sen follows.</p><p> </p><p>Yubaba settles into her office chair with the air of someone taking a load off, and Sen stands, patient. </p><p>“I’m afraid of him growing larger as an adult,” Yubaba confides. “Then there’ll be no place to put him in the bath house.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen blinks, attempting to process this. “Did you <em> stop him from growing?”  </em></p><p>Yubaba shushes her. “Shut up!” She hisses at Sen, darting a glance at the adjoining corridor to Boh’s room.</p><p> </p><p>When no signs of a temper tantrum were forthcoming, she relaxes, and flicks a flame into being. Lowering her pipe into it, she takes a long inhale.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she answers, blowing smoke.</p><p> </p><p>Sen resists the urge to put her face in her hands. “And pray tell, why can’t you take him <em> out </em>of the bath house?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because I don’t have any real jurisdiction over anywhere else! Zeniba thinks I’m insane for getting into this mess, and his donor thinks he can just impregnate a witch and just take no responsibility for his creation, which will soon join his ranks!”</p><p> </p><p>This was a pickle, Sen admitted. There was also the possibility of Boh’s father being competitive of his own son, if he was refusing this much support.</p><p> </p><p>“You have to allow Boh to grow. And to stop <em> spoiling </em>him,” Sen says sharply. It’s the heaviest criticism she’s ever spoken to Yubaba. “The faster he learns humility and control over his abilities, the faster the situation would be resolved. Yubaba, Boh is immensely powerful. If he gains-“</p><p> </p><p>“I <em>want</em> to spoil him.” Yubaba states, interrupting Sen, who drops her hands, which had been raised in her excitement. </p><p>“<em>Why</em>?” Sen asks in exasperation.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve never been a mother, Sen. You’ve never wanted to <em> be </em>a mother. You’ve taken care of Boh, but you don’t love him the way <em>I</em> do.” Yubaba states slowly.</p><p> </p><p>Sen bites the inside of her cheek, and counts to ten. “You’re right,” she replies neutrally. “But I want to see him-“</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve waited a hundred years to raise a child.” Yubaba said flatly. “Searching for a being worthy enough, building an empire wealthy enough. Pulling strings, making connections, causing enough people to be indebted to me. Just trying to <em> be enough</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen counts to ten backwards. Her cheek aches from where she hit it. “Thought your desire was to surpass your sister.”</p><p> </p><p>“It is,” Yubaba admits evenly. “But what makes you think that raising a future heavenly deity isn’t going to significantly raise those chances of doing so?”</p><p> </p><p><em> There are certain pieces of the puzzle that are just hovering out of reach, </em> a little voice says to Sen suddenly. </p><p>But she’s not quite sure what they are. </p><p> </p><p>“Are we finished here?” Sen asks abruptly.</p><p> </p><p>Blinking in surprise, Yubaba waves her off, and Sen stalks off, more conflicted now than ever.</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Sen lies awake in her futon. </p><p> </p><p><em> I have to get away from here</em>, she realizes abruptly. <em> Yubaba’s asking too much of me to go along with this little play of House of hers. Even if she is Boh’s mother, there are consequences for limiting Gods like that. </em>If he was a minor land god, Yubaba was powerful enough to get away with it. </p><p> </p><p>But Boh’s destiny lay beyond the bath house, and Sen couldn’t afford to get caught up in the schemes preventing him from doing so, or she’d get caught in the karmic backlash. </p><p> </p><p>But the contract was alive and well, chaining her to one spot, making her dance to Yubaba’s will. She could not break free even if she wanted to, unless she had her name back. </p><p> </p><p>Something deep welled up from within her. What <em>would</em> happen if she was free?</p><p><em> I want to find Kohaku, </em>she thinks to herself. Whoever he is. It feels like he was a very precious existence to her. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I want to find him on the other side.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Wait for me, Kohaku. Please. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Soooooo... CANON IS COMINGGGG NEXT CHAPTER BITCHESSSSSS YESSSSSS I'm so excited. I've already begun working on it. I'm VERY excited to tell it from this version of Sen's perspective.<br/>I also wanted to show the souring of relationships between Sen and Yubaba. Before, when Chihiro became "Sen," they had a kind of respect and camaraderie for each other, and while they didn't totally lose it by now, Sen has been put in a difficult position thanks to Yubaba. It was important to me to flesh out Yubaba and to not display her as a one-dimensional villain, but rather as a complicated woman. By now, Sen has come to view her in a much more adversarial light, even before Canon.</p><p>Kamaji is such an MVP. Also, we'll get to see more of Lin in the next chapter! I can't WAIT to see what you guys think of Sen and Haku together LOLOL I'm excited and nervous. Mostly excited.<br/>As ever, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new chapter!!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. even a thatched hut may change with a new owner into a doll house</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Destiny came unexpectedly, like an old friend on a traveling road. It roars in like a storm, and like lightning, strikes with deadly precision, illuminating everything around it.</p><p>With each heavy beat in her chest, she knows that time has begun moving once again.</p><p>The sight catches in her throat like the surging tide, and as he turns his head, she feels the thread of destiny draw straight and true, and her whole life with it. </p><p> </p><p>He’s grown his hair long in this life, too, Sen thinks to herself helplessly. </p><p>A beautiful human boy stares at her on the rails of the bridge, red plaster vibrant beneath his fingertips. The light of the setting sun glows behind him, like fire. </p><p>Memories shred through her, as strong and fast as a riptide, anchoring themselves in her psyche: </p><p>
  <em> Ash burning earth tearing like wet paper writhing in agony Kami sama I’ll meet you again? I promise- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>She sucks in a breath, as if punched. </p><p>Reality comes crashing down on her, as furious as a waterfall.</p><p> </p><p>He’s <em> here, why is he here?  </em></p><p> </p><p>“You shouldn’t be here,” <em> I have to meet you on the other side somehow. It can’t be- the time isn’t right-  </em></p><p> </p><p>No, the time is now, the thread insists. It’s right now.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> No- it can’t happen like this- don’t look at me </em>
</p><p>He could get eaten, he could be killed, this place is no place for humans any longer-</p><p>A rush of terror, as pure and cold as snowmelt: <em>He’ll have his parents with him.</em></p><p>Kohaku looks surprised as she tears his arm off of the bridge. “Go find your parents. I’ll hold them off. Go!” She orders, pushing him along. Her locks of hair  blow in an unseen wind, and as Kohaku runs, she turns, and for the first time, commits treason against the bath house. </p><p> </p><p>She blows scales and magic and deception; she erases all presence that humanity has ever graced the bridge. She protects Kohaku, because how could she not? </p><p>Sen steels her face, but now wasn’t the time to weep. <em> It might be already too late, </em>she admits to herself.</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>“Ah! Mistress Sen. We caught two humans. Transformed, so you shouldn’t worry about it too much.” </p><p>Sen surveys the torn clothes on the muddy ground. <em>These aren’t his clothes, </em>she thinks with no small amount of relief. Then a trickle of dread, pouring in like water in a leaky boat, fills her chest. <em>These are his parents, aren’t they?</em></p><p>In attempt to cover her mounting realization, she asks: “What happened? We haven’t had humans for a while.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, well. These two greedy bastards ate our food.”</p><p> </p><p><em> They what now. </em> Sen feels the urge to hold her face in her hands. <em> Even if humans don’t worship us like they used to, isn’t that a bit much? Even humans don’t go into other people’s houses and eat blithely. Well, no. Maybe they do, </em> Sen amends. <em> But these people weren’t starving. They just did it out of sheer ignorance. </em></p><p> </p><p>“I… just put them in the back row, will you? Last to be eaten.” </p><p>“Of course. Is there a reason for it?”</p><p> </p><p>Sen sighs. <em> They’re my fated one’s parents and apparently there was a colossal fuck up that led to him coming straight into the lions den, frog. </em> Yes, that would go well.</p><p>“I don’t want to give our guests and staff indigestion by eating humans so full of ingratitude. I’d like to wait until they’ve forgotten about being human for a <em> very </em>long time.”</p><p> </p><p>Of course, this is a lie. Sen has no plans whatsoever to let Kohaku’s parents be eaten. <em>I have to figure out how to save them somehow. I’ll send them out after him when he manages to escape.</em></p><p> </p><p>The frogman laughs. “Right on, Mistress Sen. I’ll put them at the very end of the list.” </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>The string continues to vibrate.</p><p><em> Kohaku still hasn’t found his way out of the spirit world, </em>Sen realizes mid-task. It’s gotten dark. The bath girl leaves with her new tasks from Sen, and when she leaves, Sen simply freezes in place, stuck like a deer in the headlights. </p><p>
  <em> What do I do? I never wanted this to happen. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I have to save him. No matter what. But how? </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sen ponders this for only a split second- because the conclusion had been staring at her in the face ever since she saw the human boy on the bridge. She sucks in a breath. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I have a very small chance. Before Yubaba comes back.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Please let this work.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sen commits her second act of treason- abandoning her duties. Adrenaline surging through her veins, she eliminates her presence: she is too powerful to be simply forgotten, but they won’t see her for a while. </p><p> </p><p>She steals from the kitchens; a simple piece of ume with her divine blessing. </p><p> </p><p><em> Please let me make it in time, </em> Sen begs. <em> Let Kohaku live. Let it not be his time yet. </em></p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Kohaku is frightened; she can feel it like another part of her body. <em> Where is he where is he </em></p><p> </p><p>Sen runs like her life depends on it, searching for that unerring string that would bring her to him when he needed her the most. Yubaba had taken flight, and would arrive <em> soon.  </em></p><p> </p><p>She finds Kohaku sitting by the riverbank, hypnotized by the sight of the spirits. A hundred gods and spirits descending upon the land, glowing and alien in the lantern-lit darkness. Kohaku’s back is translucent in the light; he is slowly becoming a human spirit, easily washed away like the tide. </p><p> </p><p>“Here,” she says to him, kneeling beside him in the grass. Mercifully, her hands do not tremble. “I’m a friend.” </p><p>He whips around, startled and afraid; his eyes are so <em> green, </em>like growing things.</p><p> </p><p> “Eat this,” she holds out the little, precious ume piece to him.</p><p> </p><p>“No!” He yells, distraught, and her heart breaks. <em> He knows that you’re not meant to eat the food the gods. But this is different- this is my gift to you. </em></p><p> </p><p>His hands pass through her, trying to shove the food away, and she tries not to look shaken. <em> He is very close to death. </em> “Here, it’ll make it stop.” <em> I hope. </em></p><p> </p><p>Obediently now, he bites the ume, and with difficulty, swallows it whole. To both of their relief, he appears to solidify, and gain form. Smiling, Sen holds up her hand. “See?” She asks gently, and with wonder, Kohaku touches her hand. </p><p> </p><p>But the moment doesn’t last: electricity lances through her, sharp and insistent- <em> eyes looking, the call of the hunt, sharp beak to tear and rend flesh- </em></p><p> </p><p>She shoves Kohaku against the wall, hardly daring to breath. <em> Yubaba’s back.  </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Does she know? That the contract is in peril?  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The beady eyes of the witch peer through her land. She knows that there is the stench of human lingering from somewhere. </p><p> </p><p>After a long moment, the moment of danger passes; Yubaba has shifted her gaze.</p><p> </p><p>“Get up,” she commands Kohaku, who looks at her in muted panic. “I-I can’t move my legs.” He really is trying, too. “Where are my parents?” He asks, desolate. </p><p>She hesitates. “I- Safe for the time being. I’ll bring you to them.”</p><p>Unlike his parents safety, though, his inability to stand is something she can fix. She’s always had her own power, but she’s learned a few tricks from serving under a witch. Kneeling, she passes a hand over his knees. “In the name of water and earth, I unbind you.” She pulls him up; he feels light as a feather. “Now run!” </p><p> </p><p>“Wh-“ </p><p> </p><p>They tear through the crowds, unseen and unheeded, through the luminous glow of lanterns and divine food perfuming the air. Finally, they arrive at long last to the bridge. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re going to need to hold your breath,” Sen tells Kohaku apologetically. “I can cast concealment on you, but it’ll break if you breathe.” They won’t <em> see </em>him, of course- but the smell would be undeniable. </p><p> </p><p>Kohaku nods. <em> He’s brave, </em>Sen thinks to herself, feeling a rush of undeniable fondness. She nods at him, and he sucks in a long breath. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the circumstances, Kohaku is remarkably calm. He seems rattled, but clear-headed. She only could hope that if she were in his shoes, that she would be the same. </p><p> </p><p>They walk on the bridge this time, together in the presence of gods and demons alike, the only two not anticipating a relaxing night ahead of them, Sen reckoned. Kohaku is gripping her arm like a vice, though perhaps trying to maintain some semblance of gentlemanliness by holding her at length. It makes the appearance of walking alone slightly difficult, but Sen’s always had a good stone face.</p><p> </p><p>“Mistress Sen! Mistress Sen!” The frog foreman leaps in front of her, startling Kohaku, who gasps in surprise. </p><p><em> You, </em> Sen recalls. <em> The miso soup.  </em></p><p>But it’s too late. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s that smell? It smells like- huma-“ </p><p> </p><p><em> I should’ve killed you before, </em>Sen thinks, vicious but there’s no time. She stuns the frog, ripping the memory of scent out of his head, and dives past the ladies skirts, unseen. </p><p> </p><p>Heart pounding, she opens the gate to the hydrangea courtyard. </p><p>As she turns, she sees Kohaku’s morose face.</p><p>Her heart breaks. He looks so <em> young. </em></p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he says to her, slightly strangled sounding. Tears are beginning to bud in his eyes. </p><p>“Don’t be,” Sen consoles him, lifting a hand to his cheek. “You did well.” <em> It was that fucking frog that </em> I saved. <em> From the repercussions of cooking human, no less.  </em></p><p> </p><p>And Kohaku <em> was </em>doing well. He was a child who had calamity befall him when he least expected it. </p><p>Tears roll down his face, but as they do so, he begins to look calmer. </p><p> </p><p>Sighing, Sen rests her forehead against his own- and wonders at the sudden bright flush of red spreading on his cheeks. </p><p> </p><p><em> Exit left of the garden, and head down the stairs. At the bottom, you will find a green door. Inside is the boiler room; there you will find a man. His name is Kamaji. Ask him for a job, and tell him that Sen sent you. Don’t take no for an answer- it’ll be okay. You </em> must <em> get a job in the bath house if you ever want to save your parents.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Kamaji would <em> probably </em>take care of him if it involved her. Right?</p><p> </p><p>As she pulls away, the blush is dying, but still prominent. Still, his eyes are clear. “I have to go now,” she tells him regretfully. “I’ll find you later.”</p><p> </p><p>He nods resolutely.</p><p> </p><p>Turning her back on Kohaku and entering the bath house was probably the hardest thing she’s ever done.</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <em> Ahhhh, so irritating.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“There’s a human somewhere still on the grounds! Yubaba can’t find them!”</p><p> </p><p><em> That’s because I gave them a job offer to this forsaken place. </em>“I know, I’ve been looking as well,” Sen repeats, for the millionth time. “I understand your worry, but the customers need attending to as usual. I’d say “don’t let them know that there’s a human around,” but knowing how I’ve heard pleas about it six different times in just one corridor, I’d gather that it’s a bit useless by now.”</p><p> </p><p>The frog colors in embarrassment. “Right you are, Mistress Sen.” </p><p> </p><p>Sen sighs.</p><p> </p><p>“Yubaba hasn’t failed in finding intruders before,” she remarks dryly. “Please leave it to her and I unless otherwise directed- it’s too far along in the work night to be dallying by <em> all </em> of us running around like chickens with our heads cut off.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll pass it along,” the frog says, looking immensely relieved, and bowing, makes his exit. </p><p> </p><p>A girl comes running at that very moment, and Sen sighs. “What <em> now </em>?” She asks wearily. </p><p> </p><p>The girl looks nervous, twisting her hands in her apron.</p><p>“Yubaba wants you to come to her office.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Oh. This can’t be good </em>, Sen instinctually thinks, before mentally squashing that ill fated thought. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Please let Kohaku be safe. </em>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Sen resists the urge to suck in a steadying breath as she walks the ornate hallways. <em> Don’t let her have hurt him. Please. Please.  </em></p><p> </p><p>The string hums angrily.</p><p> </p><p>Heart pounding in her chest, she rounds the corner.</p><p> </p><p>The sight is much worse than she thought. <em> He’s safe, physically, </em>she attempts to batter against the rising nausea, but it’s no use.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku stares at her with wide, frightened eyes in the firelight, and she wants to vomit. </p><p>Somewhere deep inside, she already knows: he’s signed the contract. </p><p>They were both enslaved, now.</p><p> </p><p><em> I did this. I made him her servant. </em>A mounting hysteria builds in her chest, and it’s all she can do to keep her usual stone face. </p><p> </p><p>“Sen, this is <em> Haku,” </em>Yubaba smiles, glittering and dark. “Our newest recruit. Show him to the servant’s quarters and give him his new duties.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen, unable to speak for a moment, nods shortly. “Follow me,” she orders neutrally. She’s grateful her voice doesn’t shake. </p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>“Um…Sen?”</p><p> </p><p>It’s taking all of her strength to not to explode right there. With guilt and shame, relief and regret. </p><p> </p><p>So she stands there like an idiot with a face of stone, unable to look at the human she promised to meet.</p><p>But calling her “Sen” wouldn’t sit right with anyone around the two of them. </p><p> </p><p>“You have to call me Mistress Sen around others,” she tries to say gently, but it comes out strained and hard. A flash of regret pulses through her while Haku withdraws into himself.</p><p> </p><p><em> I’m so sorry, Kohaku. </em>She thinks to herself, anguished. A moment passes between them, then: </p><p>
  <em> What the hell am I gonna do about him going into the servant’s quarters? </em>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Sen’s not really sure if this is gonna work. </p><p> </p><p>As predicted, everyone in the general vicinity reacts with disgust to a <em> human </em> in their midst. Sen supposed that if you weren’t used to the pollution of the human world, you’d hate it too. But none of them had reacted with enough disgust to <em> kill.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Though, it might be because Yubaba herself declared him off limits.</p><p> </p><p>But Kohaku doesn’t even flinch. He bows elegantly, every inch dignified and polite. “Please take care of me,” he says, and Sen wants to cry again. </p><p> </p><p>She doesn’t do that. She looks for a friendly face.</p><p>Lin is loitering by the doorway, arms crossed. Her face is set in a rather believable petulance, but Sen sees her looking at Kohaku. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Lin took Kohaku up to Yubaba. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Lin,” she says, and Lin flinches before covering it up with a “Whaat?”</p><p> </p><p>Sen stares at Lin intently. <em> Please. Please help him. “ </em>Didn’t you say you want a new helper?”</p><p> </p><p>Lin’s eyebrows furrow minutely, and dart towards Kohaku. <em> I was gonna do that anyway without you asking. </em> “What’re you foisting him off on <em> me </em> for? what a pain in the ass,” she says to much snickering of the frogs. She nods at Haku. “Come on. This way.” </p><p> </p><p><em> His shoulders look tense, </em>Sen thinks worriedly as he walks past her. </p><p>As he turns the corner, Kohaku looks at her once, and disappears with Lin. </p><p> </p><p>It registers to her that she, Sen, was probably very scary to him at this point, and that Lin was very pretty.</p><p> </p><p>Her stomach turns over.</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Even though the duties of the staff were mostly over, Sen was running around with her duties long after Kohaku was probably sent to bed. </p><p> </p><p>With each passing hour, she felt more and more miserable and tired. So much had happened, and all she wanted to do was to crawl into her futon and cry. Or maybe apologize to Kohaku. Or to his parents. She’d saved their lives, but only just. Kohaku was a slave, and his parents were scheduled to be eaten.</p><p> </p><p>Her feet find her trudging over to the boiler room instead. Opening the sliding door, she hears- then sees- Kamaji snoring. </p><p> </p><p>A lump rose in her throat. That suited her just fine, honestly. His presence, but not his awareness, gave her some comfort and dignity.</p><p> </p><p>Crawling along the wooden floors, she sits in a fetal position, looking at the dying embers of flame.</p><p>Hot tears well up, and she lets them. </p><p> </p><p>“Sen?” She hears from somewhere next to her, and she looks up. <em> Damn. </em>Kamaji probably sensed her power next to him, and was alerted that there was a threat.</p><p> </p><p>“Heard you called him your grandson,” she says, but her voice is wobbly. </p><p> </p><p>There is a pause. “He’s a very sweet boy, isn’t he? Polite. Hard working.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen nods, and bursts into tears. They’re not silent tears- loud and ugly, wracking her body. “Oh, Sen.” Kamaji says, and it’s just the balm she needs. So of course, this makes the crying worse.</p><p> </p><p>“What is he to you?”</p><p>“He’s my- he’s-“ she gulps, but she’s too far gone, and descends back into tears. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Oh </em> ,” Kamaji says, and his voice has changed with soft wonder. “He’s <em> yours, </em>isn’t he?” </p><p> </p><p>“I wanted- I wanted- to meet him- <em> outside </em>,” Sen makes out, and pushes her face into her knees. Her head is beginning to pound, but she doesn’t care.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no.” Kamaji’s voice is genuinely dismayed, and this real pity throws her emotions into flux.</p><p>“He- he <em> saw </em> me. As a <em> slave.”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Kamaji is mercifully silent at this, and after a moment, Sen is able to continue. “And- then I had to enslave <em> him. </em> His parents might get <em> eaten. </em> I don’t know what to <em> do.” </em> The tears begin afresh. “ <em> I didn’t want to do this! What if they all get eaten?” </em>She gulps. “What if he never breaks free?” </p><p> </p><p>“You did what you had to. You saved his life. His parents aren’t eaten yet.” Kamaji replies steadily. “It-“</p><p> </p><p>The door slides open. “Sorry, Kamaji, had to settle the k-“ </p><p>Sen turns around. It’s Lin, looking slightly haggard. </p><p>Lin’s eyes grow wide, and belatedly, Sen realizes that she’d been thrown into relief, visible even in the dim light. Sen turns away, angrily scrubbing at the remnants of tears. </p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for taking care of him,” Sen says, slightly choked, and curses silently at the sound. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you <em> crying?” </em>Lin asks, sounding rather like someone told her that humans had sprouted wings and could fly.</p><p> </p><p>Sen doesn’t answer. It’s too embarrassing. Unfortunately, Kamaji decides to reply for her: “It’s about Haku.” </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Damn it. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Did he do something <em> bad </em>? But I could’ve sworn… hey, he asked if there was two of you, you know. How come?”</p><p> </p><p><em> Oh, so he did find me scary. </em>This makes it rather worse, but instead of crying, it sinks miserably into the pit of her stomach. </p><p> </p><p>Kamaji doesn’t add to the mess, and for a long time, the three of them sit silently. But as it turns out, it’s too late. With the air of dawning realization, Lin says: “It’s not that he did something <em> bad </em> . It’s the <em> opposite </em>, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> A little shoe, swept away in the current.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sen nods once, miserable. </p><p> </p><p>She registers the feeling of arms being thrown around her. Sen stiffens with shock.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s gonna be okay, Dragon,” she hears in her ear, soft and fierce. “That boy’s a tough one. Just like you.”</p><p> </p><p>Sen dissolves, and throws her own arms around Lin, crying into her shoulder. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. For a lovely bowl, let us arrange these flowers...for there is no rice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sen sits outside of Kohaku’s door, drained. </p><p> </p><p><em> You might be scary as hell, Sen, but you’re a good boss. I’ll do my best by that boy, </em>Lin had said.</p><p> </p><p><em> I tried to set something up with the girls, but they wouldn’t allow him to sleep with them. Said he stank too much. I can’t ask the frogs to take him, either. They’d eat him alive. We put him in his own room. It’s basically a futon closet- well, it </em> was <em> one- but it’s a pretty big one. We just stuffed all the futon on the bottom into our normal closets, and it worked out okay. </em></p><p> </p><p>The sliding door is slightly open to allow air to come to Kohaku as he slept. Part of Sen was afraid someone would try to close it out of sheer malice, so here she was. Waiting in the wee hours in a corridor.</p><p> </p><p>Yubaba hadn’t asked for her much after the incident, mostly telling her to do small errands. Sen was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it seemed that Kamaji’s little white lie that he was his grandson mostly worked. </p><p> </p><p>She had thought about going to her own bed, but the worry for him was too strong. </p><p> </p><p>“Kami-sama?” Kohaku asks from the other side of the screen, making her jump. </p><p> </p><p>Then she registers what he’d said, and her heart twists. <em> You’re the only one who remembers to call me that. <br/>
</em></p><p>the thought rose, unbidden, and washes away easily like the tide, leaving only a warm feeling behind.</p><p>A little fumbling, embarrassed, she sticks her fingers through the bottom of the open slit. <em> What am I doing? </em>She asks herself, ears turning red. </p><p> </p><p>Kohaku latches into her fingers with his own hand, and it feels so <em> warm.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Highly embarrassed now, Sen buries her face into her free hand. </p><p>“Thank you for saving me.” </p><p> </p><p><em> Don’t mention it. </em>She thinks, but he squeezes her hand. She’d said it out loud, muffled.</p><p> </p><p>They stay a long time like that, two children on the tightrope of fate, holding onto each other for dear life. </p><p> </p><p>They fall into an uneasy sleep together.</p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Eventually, the grey dawn creeps through the paper screens, and Sen wakes slowly, blinking into consciousness. </p><p> </p><p>Kohaku’s grip had slackened. Scrubbing at her eyes, she pries her hand away to open the cupboard door. </p><p>In the dim light, his black hair has a nearly green hue to it. <em> His eyelashes are long, </em>she thinks. </p><p> </p><p>There is a furrow in his brow, as if pondering a problem. Thoughtlessly, she reaches out to rub it with her thumb.</p><p> </p><p>She pauses. <em> I… isn’t it weird if I wake him up like this? </em></p><p> </p><p> Deciding better of it, she rests her hand on where his shoulder would be- and then has a heart attack. </p><p> </p><p>Hooded by sleep, his eyes stare up at her in the gloom. </p><p> </p><p>Heart pounding, she manages to hold his gaze. “Meet me in an hour,” she whispers. “There is a garden gate at the other end of the bridge. I’ll take you to see your parents.”</p><p> </p><p>She rises, leaving him.</p><p>As she walks along, she realizes abruptly: <em> Oh no. He needs to eat, doesn’t he? </em></p><p> </p><p>In all the chaos of last night, she’d forgotten to sneak him some food. </p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Probably because it was in the middle of their sleeptime, there are blessedly no frogs manning the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>After much internal debate, she realized that the only real food of substance that the staff wouldn’t realize was missing was rice, and was making onigiri. </p><p> </p><p>She hunts around the small kitchen for a bit, looking for leftover cooked rice. In a kitchen like this, there would be a massive pot of it waiting for the next time the cooks would wake up. </p><p> </p><p>Stifling a yawn, she finally opens the correct container, and scrubbing her eyes, looks down at the ume-studded rice. For all of the preservatives that the humans had come up with, pickled plum still worked the best to keep rice fresh.</p><p> </p><p>Crouching, she scoops from the container into a bowl.</p><p> </p><p><em> I wonder if this is what humans feel like, </em>Sen thinks to herself as she sets the bowl on the counter, clasping her hands around the rice. </p><p> </p><p>She’d make onigiri for herself at times when things got busy, as much of the kitchen and waitstaff would do as well. Many hours were spent alongside the walls of a spare corridor or other, furiously cramming their cheeks with rice and nori, bits of scrap fish and ume before rushing off to accomplish some task or other.</p><p> </p><p>But Sen had never made onigiri for anyone else. </p><p> </p><p>A heady, clouded feeling suffused her heart as she bends over the rice, as if shielding it from view in the lonely kitchen. She weaves enchantment into them as she presses the grains, humming the spell along.</p><p> </p><p>It was a precious feeling, she decided.</p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p>Tucking the precious balls into her clothes, magicking them to be inconspicuous and light, Sen tiredly trudges out of the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>The morning now was hazy and golden, blurred by distant rainfall. She crams her own onigiri into her mouth watching it, though she can’t taste much else other than the faint tang of ume and the comforting fluffiness of rice.</p><p> </p><p><em> I need to go to Kamaji, </em> She decides. <em> He probably has his clothes, since Kamaji’s claimed him as his grandson.  </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kohaku’s got to have his clothes with him at all times if he ever wants to return to the human world. I like Kamaji a lot, but I can’t ask him to hold onto the clothes for long. Yubaba would bowl him over in an instant.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, she finishes the last of her meal, and scrubbing her mouth, makes her way down to the boiler room.</p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Kamaji is sleeping, as she rather expects. Still, he wakes up. The dragon aura did rather tend to do that.</p><p>“<em> Sen..? Again?” </em></p><p> </p><p>Feeling hot with embarrassment for waking him, Sen’s shoulders hunch involuntarily. “Just picking up his clothes,” she replies softly, and with some incomprehensible grumbles, Kamaji unearths them, and shoves it into Sen’s chest. “Came with a card. You better safeguard it.”</p><p>
  <em> What?  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sen bows slightly. “Thanks for everything. Sorry to wake you, Kamaji.”</p><p> </p><p>“S’ok. Go.” The spider elder flaps three arms at her, which she takes as her leave. Clutching his clothes to her chest, Sen exits the boiler room into open air, and as the door closes behind her, a little corner paper flickers into being from the folds of clothes with the wind.</p><p> </p><p>Curious, she plucks it out.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I’ll miss you, Kohaku. -Taka. </em>
</p><p>There is a little doodle of a pool.</p><p> </p><p>Something hot builds in her chest, and before she knows it, tears are spilling down her face, turning cold in the wind. She tries to wipe at it, but it’s no use. She stares down at the card, and the tears continue to fall. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Hot summer days, people talking above her- green eyes, a little shoe- the sound of boys coming home from a game, loud and happy- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>(There are two things that Chihiro, even as Sen, cannot truly forget: one is Kohaku. The other is humans. She loves them both.)</p><p> </p><p>There is a world still waiting for Kohaku, she knows. One where he was loved, where he would surely make friends and laugh, free, able to come home to his parents.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I owe it to him. </em>
</p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>Sen walks on the bridge. Her feet feel tired, though it’s only been a while since she woke. Her neck and back hurt from the position she kept while sleeping, and she reaches up to rub her neck.</p><p> </p><p>Then, she feels <em> it: High, eerie flutes- the scent of tatami floors, of roving eyes all around, boring into the body. Pride and hostility, vengeance and greed and an all consuming love-  </em></p><p> </p><p>The blank face of a Noh mask stares down at her, frozen in a face of perpetual good humor. </p><p> </p><p>she blinks. Nodding slightly in acknowledgement, she passes it by. After all, since the bath house wasn’t open, he wasn’t a customer yet, strictly speaking.</p><p> </p><p>When she looks back, it’s face had turned to her in interest of her destination, but had not moved from it’s spot, seemingly content to wait where it was. Then it looks away.</p><p> </p><p>The morning light feels warm against her skin as she waits from where she was, leaves rustling with the light wind, lifting the sleeves of her kimono. Nothing else was forthcoming.</p><p> </p><p>Perhaps it’s waiting for the bath house to reopen? She muses to herself. It was slightly strange behavior, because spirits were at their most powerful at dusk, but not unheard of.</p><p> </p><p>She had sensed the bubbling humanity that had spawned it; the spirit that inhabited a mask. It had grown powerful for what it was- and it was the kind that could grow <em> more </em>powerful. It absorbed what was around it like a sponge.</p><p> </p><p>It had the potential to be a troublesome customer, she thinks to herself. It would replicate all of the emotions it would encounter along the way, for better or for worse.</p><p> </p><p>And if it was one, Sen decides, she would just <em> let it.  </em>It had the potential to be a good distraction.</p><p> </p><p>As she hears footsteps, she turns: </p><p>Kohaku was running on the bridge, tying his sleeves as he went. </p><p> </p><p>Despite her tiredness, the sensation, watching him is indescribably vivid, as if the world had mysteriously gained a new color, or finding home when you were lost. Sen’s breath hitches in her throat; grief and longing swimming steadily up, against all her willpower, like carp in the current.</p><p> </p><p>She can’t remember much, but the past lingers behind her tongue, as if waiting to burst forth.</p><p>The sun catches his face, and something solidly lodges in her stomach.</p><p>He isn’t smiling, exactly… but he seems glad to see her. The relief and quiet happiness glow out of his face, though it’s chased by the shadow of trauma.</p><p> </p><p>When he stands in front of her, it hardly feels real. </p><p> </p><p>“This way,” she hears herself say. </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> You have to know the face of your parents. Even if they don’t remember yours. This is the only way you can ever free them.  </em>
</p><p>Sen thinks, but doesn’t quite say, the words hanging heavy on her ribs.</p><p> </p><p>The hedges are painfully beautiful in the morning sunlight, vibrant with flowers as they run through the sunny garden. </p><p> </p><p>Kohaku’s hand is intertwined with hers as they run together. It’s heat and presence buzzes in the back of her mind like a dragonfly, glittering and glorious- but with it came shadows, layered and complex: of guilt, regret, longing.</p><p> </p><p>But there was a simple joy to be had in it, despite the circumstances.</p><p>
  <em> Please let this be of solace to him. </em>
</p><p>Then: <em> I wonder what this would’ve been like if we met in the human world. </em></p><p> </p><p>But it’s too late to dwell on such things: their feet have taken them to where the humans were kept. The sunlight feels colder here, as if to acknowledge the cruelty taking place.</p><p> </p><p>Next to her, Kohaku sucks in a breath. </p><p>She squeezes his hand.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re in here,” she tells him softly, and their feet tread on the muck and dirt, until she’s lead him to the right ones. They’re sleeping- probably after a good feeding.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Your son is right there, and you can’t even recognize him anymore. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku looks up at her with big, anticipatory eyes in the dim light. There is a curve to his lips that say that he is about to cry.</p><p>“Are these my parents?”</p><p> </p><p>She nods. </p><p> </p><p>In a burst of motion, he releases her hand, and runs to the pen. “‘Mom! Dad!”</p><p>It’s a cruel reunion: the pigs are dead to the world. But if she’d brought him any earlier, they might’ve considered taking his hand off as a snack before breakfast. After all, pigs did not care much for what they were eating. That was why they were pigs.</p><p> </p><p>“Is something wrong with them? Are they okay?”</p><p> </p><p>His face, full of fear shines dimly in the light. The brave front had shattered in the face of his parents. “They’re just sleeping,” she clarifies. “They’ve finished breakfast.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Tell him. Tell him before it’s too late. </em>“They don’t remember what it’s like being human,” she forces out. It’s simultaneously a comfort and a heavy blow- there’s no abasement if they don’t remember, after all.</p><p>But it means they won’t remember Kohaku.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku’s face crumples as he turns back to the pen. To her surprise though, his back straightens.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll get you out of here,” he tells them solemnly, full of dignity. “So don’t get too fat off of what they feed you.”</p><p> </p><p>He stands there for a minute, gazing at what was left of his parents. <em> Trying to accept the reality, </em>she thinks. As she walks forward, she sees that his shoulders are beginning to shake.</p><p> </p><p>As she reaches forward to touch his arm, he turns towards her, and rests his head on her shoulder.</p><p>It’s astonishingly intimate, and she lets out a breath like she was punched in the stomach.</p><p>It’s an embrace not-quite-an-embrace, caught between the limbo of what it could be and what it wasn’t. The warmth of his head and torso rests solidly against her, like a treasure chest. </p><p>Neither of them make the next step to wrap their arms around the other. It’s too painful.</p><p> </p><p>“Can they see?” He whispers into her neck. It tickles a little, and she closes her eyes, cheek resting against his skull.</p><p>“No,” she whispers back.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>With gentle urging, Sen leads Kohaku to the garden again, out of the darkness and into the light. </p><p> </p><p>The sunlight somehow feels bleaker for having been inside of the pig pen- and a flash of movement catches her eyes. </p><p>Kohaku is kneeling in front of the pen. His complexion doesn’t look good, and his eyes are staring glassily ahead.</p><p> </p><p>She kneels in front of him, placing a hand on his knee. “What’s going on?” </p><p>Kohaku shakes his head. “Dizzy. Sorry… I..”</p><p>He looks embarrassed, so it’s not because he wanted to stay inside exactly, she concludes. </p><p> </p><p>“Here,” she offers her hand. “Hold onto me.”</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku colors slightly, despite his condition. “I-“ he begins, probably to refuse her help. He seems very straight laced, responsible despite his age: Asking for help would be worrying about burdening others.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s go to the flowers,” she interrupts, though it’s gentle. “You’ll feel better.”</p><p>He takes her hand, and though he’s leaning on her for support, it feels like she’s been rewarded instead.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku looks very flushed, almost feverish. He’s refusing to meet her eyes, though he keeps darting looks at her. </p><p>It’s very confusing, but she chalks it up to being embarrassed for being helped and being dizzy. </p><p> </p><p>He slides to the ground when she finally lets go, kneeling in front of the hedge. She kneels next to him again. “Here,” Sen rummages inside of her sleeve again, popping the leaf-wrapped package back into existence, and drawing it out to present to him. “I brought you some food.”</p><p> </p><p>Some focus returns to his gaze, and though surprised, he seems happy to receive the food.</p><p><em> He must’ve been hungry, </em>she realizes.</p><p> </p><p>To her astonishment and embarrassment, he bows over the balls in his lap. “Thank you very much,” he says, very formally, and she waves it off. “No need,” she replies. After a moment, he unwraps the package, and hesitantly takes a bite.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes widen, and he takes larger and larger bites. Sen feels herself beginning to smile; it’s hard not to. But it fades, because tears are pooling up in earnest in his eyes, rolling down his face as he eats. </p><p> </p><p>There is a kind of nobility in his grief as he eats. He eats neatly, precisely, with dignity, even if it’s just for a rice ball in a garden.</p><p> </p><p>Sen gets up; his gaze jerks upward, as if afraid to watch her leave. </p><p>But she had no intention of that. She crouches beside him once more, and places a hand on his back. </p><p>He makes a wet noise, and the waterworks come in earnest, with tiny hiccups. He does not cry out, but wraps the package back up neatly, with respect, and buries his head into his knees.</p><p> </p><p>She lets him cry it out, not rubbing his back, but just resting her hand to let him know that she was there. </p><p> </p><p>After a while, he raises his head, red-eyed and with a wet face. </p><p>“Thank you,” he says again, and she shakes her head. </p><p> </p><p><em> The clothes, </em> the back of her mind prompts, and she replies, <em> Wait.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Have we met before?” Kohaku looks into her eyes, and her breath catches in her throat. </p><p> </p><p>Time slows like a sluggish stream around them, and a millennia gone by stares out of his face. </p><p>He looks old and young at once, and somewhere close by, yet far as the nearest star, she hears the siren call of a body diving into water.</p><p> </p><p>The string is vibrating very hard, nearly enough to create sound. It stretches between their shoulders, yearning to complete.</p><p> </p><p>Instead of answering, however, she fishes out his clothes, and hands it to him. He accepts it with a kind of dawning realization that only the breaking of magic could bring.</p><p>“These are yours,” she tells him, and her heart sings for him, sweet and sad. “You’ll need them to return home.”</p><p><em> Home without me, without me, </em>her heart sings.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku raises the card lying on top of the clothes, and though it’s minute, his fingers are trembling.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s my name. Why did I forget it?” He remarks, half to himself.</p><p>“Your name is Kohaku,” she says, softly. “I remember nothing else.”</p><p> </p><p>As he looks at her, they are caught together in a moment, as golden and sweet as honey.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So this is almost all of what I have got pre-written! I’m working on the next chapter now, but updates might come not as consistently now. Still, I’ll try. </p><p>What do you guys think of Sen and Kohaku’s relationship 👀 I really wanted to explore a love that felt like “ah, so it’s you. It was always meant to be you.” I really enjoyed writing this chapter 😭 they’re good kids</p><p>I think the reason why Sen is feared by the bath people is because even though she’s nice to them, she’s like the equivalent of a walking bomb in terms of power, as opposed to *who* she is. She can be a bit dragon-like in her fury, but 99% of the time she directs it to unruly customers. Like a bouncer lol </p><p>I based it somewhat off of Haku’s own reputation in the bath house.</p><p>Also, for the names I made conscious decisions on: Chihiro is Chihiro without the contract, Sen is who she is inside of the bath house, and Kohaku stayed the same (unless addressed by others) because he was always known as Kohaku to her, and also, she gave him back his name as soon as she could. </p><p>Sen’s memories are very fragmented. Anything to do with her identity is swallowed up by the contract, with the exception of Kohaku, and her love of humanity, since it’s deemed not part of her as the Chihiro River. The memories come back sometimes, but unless she has her name, it doesn’t stay in her head.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. On the path in the desolate field, the shadows overlapped- and parted</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Scales ripple in the impossible blue of eternity, shivering with euphoria. Freedom tasting like seafoam on her tongue, Sen pierces the clouds like a lance, diving through the air like a lightning bolt. Sen has no name, but it is </span>
  <em>
    <span>here-</span>
  </em>
  <span> Memory hovers, real and permanent, hovering before her taloned hands, beckoning behind a solid, icy sheet of glass- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>dragon,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and the world has become more vivid and precious for it, and a realization sinks into her, steady and true, a seed sinking into mud against the current.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I have to do it now, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought, thinking of Kohaku’s back on the bridge, the sound of his footsteps against blond bridgewood. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I have to try. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Yubaba would be at rest; for a few more precious hours, even Boh wouldn’t wake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The best way to defeat a witch was with another witch, and in the manner of fate, it was best to ask her twin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she lands, she feels </span>
  <em>
    <span>nostalgia </span>
  </em>
  <span>floating in her chest, it’s magic beckoning her: untouched forested land yawns before her, sun-dappled beneath her feet; flickers of light gently swaying in the breeze, illuminating the beaten path before her, speaking of humble pleasures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I haven’t been here before, but it’s supposed to remind me of something.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>With a sigh (</span>
  <em>
    <span>a thousand burbling moments in the sun, a twitch in a million reeds-)</span>
  </em>
  <span> she is human again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>(ten fingers and toes, soft teeth and nails, and hair the color of roots- of growing things) </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>As she closes her eyes, she sees darkness; and then a little spotlight in the distance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With it, Sen knows that she and the Witch are the only living things here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Clack-clack, </span>
  </em>
  <span>her zori go. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Clack-clack, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the kiri wood sings as she walks on the paved path, the sound of stone underneath her feet, the break and bend of twigs underneath her feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The vistage of a cottage emerges, sweetly cream and </span>
  <em>
    <span>western.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The clack-clack slows to a stop, and Sen stares at what lay before her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door to the cottage is already open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wary, Sen does not walk through it. (She is not nearly the naive dragon who came to the bath house.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know I was coming?” She asks the open door, and laughter emits.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mirthful, she hears in turn: “You’re hardly </span>
  <em>
    <span>inconspicuous</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Invisible hackles rise, fur and scale bristling. But her human face is calm, in the manner of a still pool. “Would your sister know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My sister sleeps during this time, doesn’t she? You would not have come otherwise. It’s possible that she won’t, but let’s send her on a merry chase to be sure, shall we?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>So it’s a secret, still. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen walks to the threshold of the house, then hesitates.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba was like a duplicate of Yubaba, physically. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Except that she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>more. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen understood, down to the hairs on her neck, why Yubaba was </span>
  <em>
    <span>desperately</span>
  </em>
  <span> envious of her sister, enough to dedicate her </span>
  <em>
    <span>existence</span>
  </em>
  <span> to measuring up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The scent of precious metals hung around her like clouds, veins of ore, singing of gold and silver and rubies. Zeniba reeked of power in ways that Yubaba could not; in ways that it was laughable that Yubaba </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yubaba extracted deals by force, wheedled favors and begged her way to where she was, though she occasionally pretended that she hadn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba had no need for such things. All were </span>
  <em>
    <span>entrusted </span>
  </em>
  <span>to her; people came to them of their own volition. She was trustworthy, reliable- an </span>
  <em>
    <span>establishment. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba flicks her hand. “Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>come in.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Brown hair slips past her shoulder in a pelt as Sen bows in greeting, then toes off her shoes, padding on burnished wood, looking around her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba, in direct contrast to her sister, had chosen western aesthetics. Though carefully maintained, Sen could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> when this was made-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the west had originally come into fashion. The witch had chosen the side of the victors; of the emperors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The knowledge prickles over her skin, lonely and desolate, though she doesn’t know why, exactly.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>(Gunpowder and oil, corpses-)</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm,” Zeniba hums loudly, taking her attention, whipping around to fuss with something or the other- some papers on a drawing table behind her- “well, let’s have a good look at you. Aha,” she announces, and produces a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles from underneath the papers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She strides across the floorboards with single-minded intention towards Sen, and Sen feels the urge to back up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba seizes Sen’s chin in her hands, making Sen flinch. Phantom fingers squeeze around her throat, and she tries to ignore it, but she is still afraid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re much cuter than I thought you’d be,” Zeniba states, rather kindly. “Quite a young girl to be the terror of the bath house. Even my sister is wary of you, and she’s got as good a leash as any. By the looks of you, you got years ahead of you.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen looks steadily into her eyes. “I wanted to talk to you about that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both of Zeniba’s brows wing up. “Oh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen nods, and Zeniba releases her. “Nothing that can’t be said over tea and snacks, I’m sure. Difficult talks, I find, are best done over full stomachs and sitting down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Deals such as this are made with offerings to kami, to sweeten the taste of regret.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen makes her way to the chair at the table, and her fingers are beginning to feel numb.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba flicks her fingers, and biscuits and barley tea make their way from where they were sitting, already prepared for company, gently sailing through the air to land in front of Sen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba draws the chair back, and grandly settles in it, as if it were a throne and not only a kitchen chair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please help yourself,” she politely gestures, and after a moment of hesitation, Sen picks out a piece of biscuit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, let’s hear it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>For you, I’ll do this, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thinks, and as she does so, a sunburst of memory, pure and bright as sunlight, travels down her spine: the memory of Kohaku’s hand in hers, through moonlit night and warm morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She exhales, long and steady.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thank you for bringing color into my world.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d like to make an exchange,” she says slowly. “There is a human at the bath house. When he breaks the contract, you must be willing to keep the portal open to the human world, and to ensure his and his parent’s safety. And… if he needs your aid, render it to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This I can do for you; I’m afraid of Yubaba knowing what you mean to me. There is only so much I alone can do. But I can do this- I can make this world just a little safer for you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The air has thinned where they sat; as if gazing from the peak of a very high mountain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba contemplates Sen. Her eyes do not glitter, nor are they full of greed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her gaze is fathomless; it is eternity. She is waiting for something that is already inevitable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is quite a favor,” Zeniba remarks, almost dispassionately. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She knows she can do it. It’s only a matter of when, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen thinks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What will you give in return?” Zeniba asks; and the ancient contract of exchange is almost fulfilled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>With this, she will have a hold on me- for eternity, if she wishes. Unlike a name, I can’t easily take this back.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For the price of opening a portal, I give you my hair. For the price of rendering aid, I give you a scale.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba nods, deeply. “The price is satisfactory,” she replies, and the price of exchange settles between them both, as binding as any contract- the air rushes back, filling with oxygen, and warmth returns to the room, illuminating it with coziness once again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen breathes again, and Zeniba smiles kindly at her. It’s both a comforting and terrible smile, </span>
  <em>
    <span>because </span>
  </em>
  <span>it’s kind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You poor thing,” she utters. “He must mean a lot to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen bows her head. The words lodge somewhere in her throat, heavy and hot, a lump.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, be far from it for me to judge you, when my own sister has made far more unwise decisions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Honestly, did she have to select such an irresponsible god?” Zeniba clicks her tongue. “But maybe that’s why she selected him. She’s always hated people interfering in her business.” A sigh. “I’ll get some clippers; you can start deciding where to cut your hair.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a very strange feeling, to have a witch giving you a haircut. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nostalgic, Sen selected a hime-cut, with sharp bangs hanging past her cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cold metal feels alien against her cheeks, points gently scratching her cheekbones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should probably go see your nephew,” Sen utters, quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zeniba flicks a kerchief at her cheeks, presumably to dust away stray hairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why’s that, Dragon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because your sister has stunted his growth, and only allows him to traverse two rooms of her dwelling. He has no real knowledge but for the knowledge I’ve given him, which isn’t much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba pauses. “Is she </span>
  <em>
    <span>insane?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” Sen chuffs out a laugh, though it’s not full of humor. “I’m worried about him,” she adds, more somber. “He’s very powerful, and I think if he was raised well, he could become a very good god. But she really wanted a </span>
  <em>
    <span>child</span>
  </em>
  <span> to take care of.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba sighs. “That sister of mine… what, did she think raising a child was only enjoying them as a baby? Having a child means that they’re your child at </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> age. It’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>conditional</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He’ll still be hers when he’s a sulky, sawed-off half grown god. Still just as precious. She’s a fool.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen is silent, but she agrees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lessening her influence on him will be like pulling teeth, though. She’s stubborn as an ox,” Zeniba sighs. “Alright, there you go,” she steps back. “You get the scale while I hunt down a mirror.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the witch sweeps out of the room, Sen reaches inwards; searching through fen and silt, though she does not know what it is. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It is a hauntingly lonely feeling, being a breath away from what mattered, as if pressing your face to a one way mirror, unable to see what lay beyond. It’s wrongness pervades her as she hunts for the scale.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, she reaches- and in her hands is a stone, no, something growing, or a bone fragment of forgotten life, a pearl-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gasping, she holds the scale in her palm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It sits there on her human flesh, quietly luminous, cold and brilliant.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen looks at it. She’s never had much cause to see herself as a dragon, so she hardly knows what she looks like. The scale shifts colors; so much so that it’s hard to define. First it’s the color of a sunrise, pale pink and yellow, then green and blue, like shifting sunlight on a running current.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could’ve transformed, but the method would’ve been the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got it?” Zeniba asks, voice piercing the silence: Sen jumps a little, looking up at her as Zeniba sweeps closer. “Here, have a look,” The witch invites, and for the first time in eight decades, Sen sees herself in her human form.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t remember this face, but I know I should. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She thinks to herself. It feels familiar; as if peering through the fog of hazy memory. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I feel like I look a little older, though, than when I saw it last.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a face that’s still got the trappings of youth, but only just: the baby fat is dwindling, never to return. The chopped hair makes it even more apparent, cutting cheekbones into her face in harsh lines. She has the making of a good-looking face, perhaps- but it has the air of being in limbo, as if unsure what form it would make as an adult.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mostly, it looks tired. And a bit harsh from lack of sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It looks fine,” She says at last. “You didn’t have to go through the trouble. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba snorts. “I’m not</span>
  <em>
    <span> ungrateful.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was a good trade- You should at least look presentable after.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen smiles slightly, and presses the scale into the old woman’s palm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen’s shoulder slams into the corner of the elevator, and she grits her teeth against the pain; though she doesn’t think it’s broken, it feels dislocated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door to the entryway of Yubaba’s office swings open limply, as if cringing before it’s owner’s fury.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>So, did you think you could pull a fast one over me, Dragon?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yubaba hisses, and smoke is pouring from her fingertips, black and thick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She was awake after all, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen thinks, struggling to her feet. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Damnit, Zeniba. You said you’d lead her astray.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But maybe Yubaba’s too used to Zeniba’s tricks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thinking of breaking our contract, are we?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yubaba hisses, and Sen wants to groan. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course she thinks that. That’s the obvious conclusion, isn’t it, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thinks to herself dryly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not my protecting a human from her or three. I’ve overlooked them all until now, after all.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But of course, the truth was far more dangerous to reveal. “Don’t be stupid,” Sen grits out. “You can still feel our contract, can’t you? It wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>successful.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Of course it wasn’t successful. I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>try. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get cute with me, Sen.” Yubaba growls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or what,” Sen states, dry as bone. “Or you’ll kill me? Pretty sure that breaks the contract, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to kill you to make you regret every bit of your existence, idiot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True,” Sen tiredly acquiesced. “But then you’d have to find someone else to watch Boh. and help you run the bath house. I don’t think there’s enough powerful dragons going around for you to just pick one up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yubaba hisses, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>picks </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen up with her magic. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, this could get very bad.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Convenient, this contract,” The witch muses. “You can’t do a thing to me. If I tell you to lick my shoes, you’d have no choice. I could tell you to parade naked in front of some </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>high ranking guests. If I beat you black and blue, you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen remains silent. It was true.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fortunately for you, I do like your reputation here, and I must keep you in shape to intimidate our guests. Licking my shoes would be satisfying, but not nearly enough.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen floats through the air, helpless towards Yubaba.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I have an even better idea,” Yubaba whispers silkily. “If you enjoyed angering one witch so much, why don’t you infuriate another?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen’s insides turn to ice. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please, no. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“My sister has the seal of knowledge,” Yubaba whispers. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>you can break our precious little contract if you get a hold of it. If you </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you have to bring it to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen knows it's a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lie. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is an order,” Yubaba begins, and Sen closes her eyes.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen rides the elevator down listlessly. Every part of her seems robbed of warmth; as if the sun had already sunk beneath the surface. Her feet felt stiff with it, her back- everywhere felt cold, except the roaring pain in her arm, hot and insistent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even that felt distant, somehow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a sigh, she gingerly takes a hold of her arm, and with a sickening </span>
  <em>
    <span>pop, </span>
  </em>
  <span>eases it back into her shoulder socket. Gingerly rolling it, she discovers a few trapped nerves, and cautiously picks them out one by one, using magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She desperately wants to sleep at this point, but there was no point. An order was an order. Sen would have to fulfill it or die trying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the perfect crime, at any rate. Whatever was on the seal, she’d take the brunt of, then if Yubaba </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>caught with it, she’d just claim that she had gotten it away from her, Sen, and was planning on returning it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that Zeniba would </span>
  <em>
    <span>believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>it, Sen was sure, but it was a formality necessary to keep relations with each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every drop of warmth from the morning seems gone now, thrown to the four winds of the harsh reality she lived in.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the spirit world. If you found yourself unfortunate enough to be in debt- </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>in debt to someone- there were </span>
  <em>
    <span>consequences. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even gods weren’t immune. No one was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trudging drearily out once more of the bath house, it seems hard to believe that it was only afternoon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Noh figure was still standing there on the bridge, placid. Patient. Waiting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The roar of thrumming drums- the chime of bells, and the intone of the narrator-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On an impulse, she says: “I’ll be out for a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” the mask says. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That’ll be enough, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen knows. “The human is under my protection, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, ah.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>I understand; that’s your terms.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen nods, satisfied. “Have a nice stay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zeniba’s house looms before her, cavernous in a way that it hadn’t earlier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mine now, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yubaba’s voice says, greedy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Sen steps forward, Zeniba’s house </span>
  <em>
    <span>reaches forward,</span>
  </em>
  <span> swallowing her in it’s maw. Magic rips through her in a torrent, in the way you’ve been caught suddenly in a hurricane.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen </span>
  <em>
    <span>drowns. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sea was made of something older than either witch, than even her. It was a heavenly power, made of tidal waves and overturned ships, of roaring wind and things that lurked below, unseen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The seal hangs before her, as if it were land. It anchored the reality together, Sen knew, beyond reason. It held centuries of thought and idea, and though she desperately swims towards it, it remains out of reach. The milky way hangs over her, thick and sweet against the endless sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tanabata, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she remembers, then quick as she recalls, it is washed away again in the current.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dragon, why have you come? You don’t even desire the seal. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It asks, and for a moment, Sen’s head is held under the waves.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I am held under oath and shadow, </span>
  </em>
  <span>She answers, gasping for air. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her sister desires the seal.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>So you are her servant, </span>
  </em>
  <span>It replies, and laughs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What makes you think that you’ll come out of this unscathed? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she replies. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But I hope that Kohaku will be safe.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You love a human being, don’t you? A fitting irony for someone as foolish as you. Very well, it’s been a while since I’ve had an adventure; doesn’t do well to let that woman take my presence for granted. But you’ll pay a price.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Haven’t I been paying all of them? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen asks exasperatedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The seal crows with laughter, mirth as pure as starlight piercing through her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, that’s right. You’re mired in fate, Dragon, and don’t you forget it. Fate loves you; she’ll save her entertaining tricks for you- ever since you were born, she’s loved you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Do you think that Human loves you, by the way?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grief lances through her; she thinks back to his warmth. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she replies. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s too young yet, anyway.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Laughter rings through her head, again, like bells.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Lucky me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>it says, and runs down her throat like burning lava.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen is ripped out of the current, with a gasp for air as if she had really been underwater for a long time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the pain starts. She doubles over with it, lightning rupturing her insides; her vision goes grey, then red again- It was just like the backlash, but infinitely worse: It was a curse. Blood seeped from her scalp, from her eyes and ears, through her fingernails and toes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Better start running, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the seal laughs somewhere behind her ribcage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking Yubaba, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she curses to herself, then shakes her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If nothing else, she could do this much: it was a poor present to leave, but it would hopefully slow the promise of vengeance. Shakily, she traces in her blood; “Sorry. Yubaba found out-” before a sickening pulse rings through her head, like a giant gong.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Fuck,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she utters, and staggers to her feet, and out the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She barely makes it past the threshold before she transforms into a dragon; </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>writhing-agony-(don’t squirm you’ll hurt the humans)-coughing on blood-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She takes off into the sky, thoughts barely legible. She thought she’d be used to pain by now, but every occasion paled before this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You damn old magpie, if you want this seal, you can have it, and leave me the hell out of it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where are you going now, Dragon?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Zeniba says then behind her, cavernous and terrible, echoing through the trees and water, pulsing through the hazy clouds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yubaba’s prophecy had come true; now Sen faced the wrath of two witches. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This is what I get for tempting fate, isn’t it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sorry, Zeniba. I didn’t want to. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen apologizes, in the manner of dragons, and a glob of blood makes its way through her teeth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I suppose I should’ve tried harder to lead her astray, eh? But you know better than to meddle in the affairs of witches, </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Dragon.</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>It comes like a blizzard cresting the hills of Fuji, and tears her apart, ripping at her flesh and Sen </span>
  <em>
    <span>screams.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to everyone who left such kind feedback!! I'm so glad that you loved Sen and Kohaku together AAAAAA <br/>It really motivated me to be able to finish this new chapter on time. I thought it would be fun to explore the concept of "why" Kohaku in canon could've had reason to steal from Zeniba. Sen here is different, of course. I thought it'd be interesting to have it be a result of trying to do the right thing instead and getting burned for it.</p><p>In the next chapters I'll be exploring Kohaku's perspective as well as Sen's! Hope you enjoy it. I have some future very cute scenes planned, so stay tuned.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Keizoku wa chikara nari: To continue is power</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kohaku (-and his name <em> was </em>Kohaku) watches as a grand serpent rolls through the sky like a ribbon where Sen used to be, seafoam and pink sunset through the air.</p><p><em> A dragon, </em> his mind whispers, and a puzzle piece slides together somewhere in him, clicking as if to say <em> yes, that’s right. </em></p><p> </p><p>A cool wind blows, ruffling his hair in the sunlight of a spring morning. As Kohaku turns to face the sight of the bath house, he realizes that the pit in his stomach has lessened. </p><p>His eyes feel heavy- as he walks, he feels unexpectedly tired, despite his tenuous sleep the night before. </p><p>If she hadn’t been there, Kohaku thinks to himself, he’s not sure <em> what </em> he would’ve done. Given up, maybe. </p><p>When she is kind to him, he feels both stronger and weaker for it, like warmth after a cold day.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku considered himself a fairly steady person, but like a storm surge through a river, her presence threw him into disarray. When he looked at her, something intangible hung around her- the siren call of <em> inevitable. </em>As if he was always destined to have met her, whether now or a hundred years from now. </p><p> </p><p>He’d held onto that hand of hers like a lifeline; (and he blushed a little to think of it, because it was embarrassing to admit, even to himself-) like it was the only thing that meant he’d survive. </p><p>The world he’d been thrust into was terrifying as it was colorful, and through it, she’d been an unexpected entity who seemed invested in his survival. </p><p>He’d been taken aback, then unnerved by her glacial silence in the bath house, but all of that had vanished in an instant the second he realized that she was sitting outside of the little closet that had been allotted for him. </p><p>She’d sat there the <em>whole night</em> with him.</p><p>He’d snuck peeks at her until he could barely keep his eyes open: even in the dark, she seemed radiant while sitting beside him, as if glowing with an inner light. There was a kindness and a solemnity to her face in the pale light of the moon.</p><p>It was strange; they were two individuals who had barely met, and she clearly had a lot to lose by associating with him- much less saving him- but she was kind to him as if it was natural that she was. </p><p>Some part of him exists in a state of disbelief about it all, in fact: <em> a god saved me. A god prepared my food and held my hand for an entire night.  </em></p><p> </p><p>As the night passed in drips and dregs, a gradual realization built like silt in a current- that there was a kind of <em>familiarity</em> in her face.</p><p>It was in the way she looked at him at times, as if to check whether he was still breathing, the set of her eyes and cheeks. But he had no friends like her growing up in his Grandma’s hometown. </p><p>So he’d asked her.</p><p>And now that he was thinking of it... There were no gods like her in his hometown, either.</p><p>His parents loved him, but his grandma was the one who raised him. His parents were city people by necessity, and left their son in the care of his mother’s aging parents, only to return during holidays. </p><p>His grandmother taught him the old ways; to respect the gods, to clean and cook in the ways that she had been taught, to prune the garden just so. </p><p>She’d told him to never mind the local boys who had made fun of him, the girls who gossiped about his very obviously half-Japanese face. </p><p> </p><p>Then she’d collapsed on the tatami floor in the middle of making dinner, and never rose again. Dinner had burned that night in the cast-iron pan, and the wail of the solitary ambulance had taken too long for any saving.</p><p> </p><p>His parents wanted to make a second try of being good parents to him after that, and he was young enough to let them try. He wanted to <em> believe </em>in them. </p><p> </p><p>So they moved him, tearing him up from his roots, moving him across the country, away from his few friends, carrying the ashes of his grandma in the trunk. </p><p> </p><p>But they hadn’t had a chance. It was a chance like a soap bubble, shining and iridescent, ready to break at the slightest touch. Kohaku had warned them, but they laughed him off for being too childish, too traditional. <em> Gods aren’t real, </em> their hands said, reaching for food. <em> Not like this. </em></p><p> </p><p>But he still wanted to make an effort to try. Because he loved them.</p><p> </p><p><em> I’ll work hard, </em> he promises to himself, handballing in fist against his stomach. <em> Grandma, if you’re watching, please make sure I do well.  </em></p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>“You’re a good kid. I guess I shouldn’t have complained when I was receiving a helper,” Lin says awkwardly to Kohaku, who shakes his head. He knew he was a liability, from the way his humanity was being received.</p><p> </p><p>Lin smiles, brilliant and wide, and she nods proudly at Kohaku, looking at the other girls, who were whispering, darting looks in his direction. “See that girls? <em> Sparkling,” </em>she gestures at the floor. Kohaku had managed to keep up with the other girls cleaning- and not for the first time, felt grateful for the amount of chores he’d performed for his grandma, growing up. </p><p> </p><p>As he walked behind Lin, he heard wind rattling the screens, sending a hard spray of rain against them. It’d been raining off and on all evening in short, angry spurts, as late spring would sometimes warrant. The humidity was palpable in the air inside, even without the baths being filled.</p><p>He hopes that Sen is alright, wherever she was. Maybe she liked the rain. He hopes she does. </p><p> </p><p>“Lin, you get the big bath.”</p><p> </p><p>Lin visibly balks, turning pale.</p><p>“What! That’s frog work! It’s going to be disgusting!”</p><p>The foremen sneer. “You’ve got a strapping young human boy working for you, don’t you?”</p><p>“You mean a <em> child </em>?” Lin replies acidly. “He only comes up to my ribcage!”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s fine,” Kohaku murmurs behind her, not really wanting to cause a fuss. “Don’t worry about me.”</p><p> </p><p>The frogs laugh. “That’s right, don’t offend his manhood, Lin.”</p><p>Lin rolls her eyes so hard that Kohaku’s worried about them popping out, but then she turns to him properly. “If you’re sure,” she remarks begrudgingly, and waves a hand. “Come on, then.”</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku follows her, full of vague trepidation. “Sorry about them. I know you’re a hard worker,</p><p>too. It’s just, this is the bath reserved for our filthiest customers.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay. I’m used to this.”</p><p>Lin snorts. “You haven’t seen anything like <em> this </em>before, I bet. It gives all of the staff trouble. I’m personally not looking forward to it.”</p><p> </p><p>Sure enough, the scene unfolding before him looked vaguely like the aftermath of an explosion. Bales of loose grass everywhere, and a stench rose into the air as he entered the cubicle. </p><p> </p><p>He pauses at the entrance, and Lin laughs. “Yeah, that was my reaction too when I was first assigned to it. Alright, kid. Get us some brooms, and be grateful we’re not sanitizing the entire lot, just the tub. It’ll be filthy enough.”</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>It was pretty exceptionally filthy, Kohaku had to admit. He’d cleaned a lot before, had even handled manure to spread on fields, but this was… a lot.</p><p>It was weirdly <em> jellied </em> in places, inside the tub. And when he took a wooden scraping tool to it, it <em> came off in an inch-thick-sheet-of-filth.  </em></p><p>He’d never so desperately wanted rubber gloves as he did in that moment. </p><p> </p><p>“Huh,” Lin says somewhere in the back of him. “I didn’t think to actually just <em> scrape </em>it off. Is it working?”</p><p> </p><p>Wordless, Kohaku gestures at the filthy mixture at his feet, and bits of Lin’s hair visibly stands on end. “<em> Ew,” </em> she remarks, heartfelt. “I can’t believe that <em> that </em> came off. It’s not like we don’t scrub it regularly.”</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku was starting to vaguely worry about just that in the back of his head, he has to admit. Lin looks up.</p><p>“But it’s getting late already. Must’ve been one tough customer,” she adds under her breath. “Right, let’s hurry. I’m starving.”</p><p> </p><p>Nodding, he looks back at what lay beneath all of the muck. Kohaku smiles slightly to himself: after a few hours of work, he was greeted at last with the sight of natural stone. </p><p>His back aches and his feet were slipping slightly in the muck, but it really was satisfying to see the fruits of labor.</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>“Ahh! All finished! It looks cleaner than it’s been in <em> ages. </em>Good job!”</p><p>Kohaku allows himself a small smile, and Lin cheerfully pats his back. “My back’s gonna hurt later,” she announces.</p><p> </p><p>“Lin!” </p><p>“Whaat,” Lin drawls, shoving Kohaku forward. “Go get us some tea, I’ll catch up later. We should eat.”</p><p> </p><p>The foreman hauls Lin to the side, and Kohaku is sent on his way, presumably to the kitchens. </p><p> </p><p>“-can’t wait to grab something to eat…” he hears one of the girls chattering, and trying to remain inconspicuous, follows them.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku quietly slides open the veranda with a small tray with tea. <em> Only for a moment, </em>he promises himself. </p><p> </p><p>The tea had come courtesy of a large cauldron of steaming water, and the girls and frogs had flocked alike to the cups lain out, chattering excitedly, eager to warm up from the chilly day. His presence had earned him a few dirty looks, but mostly, they’d let him be. </p><p> </p><p>The garden seems soft and shadowy, nearly lavender in the twilight, blurring the edges of the vibrant hydrangea to soft blobs, pastel in the dark.</p><p> </p><p>The cup steams gently, fragrant in the humid chill, and smiling slightly, he grasps the cup on both hands and sighs.</p><p> </p><p>The gentle warmth spread through his stiff fingers, touching his heart with a soft relief. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Grandma, I wonder if you can see what I’m doing here.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It’s strange. Sometimes you can live only a day’s worth in a year and sometimes you can live a year’s worth in a day.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The latter was applicable to this. <em> I’m living among the spirits and I’m not dead. I’m working hard to rescue my parents. </em></p><p>
  <em> I promise I’ll do my best not to disappoint you. I will work my hardest. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>With a sensation like an invisible chime being struck, something- or <em> someone- </em>catches Kohaku’s attention. </p><p> </p><p>As he looks up, he sees a black mass. </p><p>A clay face stares down at him from it, and though it is empty, he feels a sensation <em> not his own </em> that feels very much like <em> curiosity.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Hair begins to rise on his neck. </p><p> </p><p>Then, surprisingly, pity douses it. It comes in warm, like rainfall in the summer. “You must be getting rained on,” he remarks to the being in front of him. “Here, have some hot tea.” He sets down the tea on the veranda, and gestures towards it. </p><p> </p><p>“Haku!!” He hears Lin yelling, and he cringes. “Coming!” He answers, and rises, bowing to the spirit. “The bath house isn’t open yet, but I hope you’ll come in when you’re done. I’ll leave the door open for you.” </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> * </em>
</p><p>Time becomes meaningless for Sen; the void yawns before her, leaving her drifting in a haze red with agony, black creeping at the edges of her vision, with every new lightning bolt of fresh agony for every movement.</p><p> </p><p>And then a boiling fury rises in her, so keen and sharp that it feels like another kind of pain.</p><p><em> Do you think </em> I <em> should be taken lightly, Witch? </em>Sen seethes.</p><p> </p><p>Half mad as she is now, she has found refuge in a kind of clarity only a god on the verge of insanity could call home. Her mind is the very edge of a razor, a live wire flying through the air.</p><p> </p><p>As she breathes, blood drips through the clouds, and with the gift of sacrifice idly given, she is a thousand molecules within a droplet, a droplet that joins by the millions; and her serpentine eye rolls towards the direction of Zeniba’s dwelling.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> There is a price to be had for angering a dragon.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Let the heavens run dry, for I will turn the land into my domain, into river-rock and marsh. Magic like yours is in the end, not compared to mine. Let this be a warning to you. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The ground splits below her in a forked bolt of light, just like a serpentine body, and the world shatters with sound.</p><p> </p><p>Still, the papers do not cease. They tear into her with single-minded force, with one task; to punish. They do not fear rain nor wind, or cloud nor storm, and they will exact their vengeance. </p><p> </p><p><em> I wonder which will cease first; </em> Sen thinks: <em> Your paper or the flood. </em> Her maw opens in a bloody grin. <em> What do you know? You are only six hundred and eighty-three. </em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> * </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The heavens tear open with a terrible force; the shops close in fear of her fury below, dimming lamps, and even gods slow to a halt in their pilgrimage to become clean.</p><p> </p><p>Sen dances the flight of a dragon enraged, but the seal burns within her, a swirling gas of starlight so pure that it feels like lava. The knowledge is there, impenetrable, unopenable. </p><p> </p><p>Even if she were to open it, she is sure to go mad for-ever, wandering the earth as a bumbling fool who has looked upon the face that she should not.</p><p> </p><p>She groans as another paper slices through her skin, penetrating scale and bleeding through flesh. </p><p><em> You’re quite insistent on making everyone suffer for your inconvenience, aren’t you? </em>Zeniba’s voice says, humming through a thousand paper dolls.</p><p> </p><p>Sen snarls. <em> Between you and your sister, I can’t tell who’s more irritating at the moment, so unless you’d like to test that, you should lose the paper. </em></p><p> </p><p>Zeniba scoffs. <em> And lose track of the seal? I’m not that much of a fool, dragon. And I’m not </em> that <em> generous, either. You still stole the seal, willingly or not. </em></p><p> </p><p><em> I feel quite used between the two of you, </em> Sen snaps back, irritable. <em> Hope you both like the wet. </em></p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>The heavens have opened up in a way that makes Kohaku nervous; the force reminds him of aches in his back, hauling sacks of sand to doorways and flooded crops; of news of Tokyo crumbling underneath the fierce winds and rain- pictures of an entire parking lot of cars being crushed like so many soda cans, entire building signs being ripped off and cleaving buildings in two.</p><p> </p><p>Then, there is a <em> stench.  </em></p><p>It creeps up slowly, like a thief in the night in the humidity and gale-like wind, and soon enough, the staff and guests are gagging.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku determinedly shoves rice into his mouth, though he can hardly make himself swallow, but Lin turns faintly green, lowering her chopsticks.</p><p><em>“ </em> What <em> is </em> that? <em> What is that?” </em> She asks, probably to Kohaku but to no one really at all, looking around her. “Is there <em> anything </em> here that could possibly smell like that? I think a rotting carcass would smell better…”</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku was nauseous himself: not trusting himself, he only lightly shakes his head. Even the rice in his stomach turns after that motion.</p><p> </p><p>Then suddenly, someone grabs the back of his work shirt, surprised, he goes limp. “<em> Hey!” </em>Lin barks, startled. </p><p>“Human, <em> you </em> deal with… whatever that is. Tell it that we’re closed or something. <em> Hurry. </em>Lin, help the others take care of the guests, they’re starting to throw up. Where the hell is Mistress Sen?”</p><p> </p><p>Bewildered, Kohaku allows himself to be frog marched through the front doors. He’s thrown out unceremoniously: staggering, his feet slip into slime-filled dirty rain water and as he rights himself, he struggles against the torrential wind; it’s so strong that for several moments, he feels like he’d be lifted up, up and away.</p><p> </p><p>A mass of… something is in front of him. It might’ve been purely sludge, for all he could tell. </p><p><em> This </em>was the source of the smell in the bath house.</p><p>It smelled horrific; the stuff of nightmares for years to come. </p><p> </p><p>Icy rain pelts through Kohaku’s hair, matting it to his scalp, and he begins to shiver violently. <em> Now what? </em>He wondered. </p><p>Another gust of wind blows through, strong enough this time to knock him over; this time he really is lifted off his feet, and by the time gravity had worked its magic, he was already falling:</p><p> </p><p>A filthy limb wraps itself around his arm.</p><p>Then:</p><p>
  <em> Little one, what are you doing? Your place isn’t here. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>As the rain roars around them, Kohaku looks back up at the pile of sludge. The voice was somehow incredibly nostalgic; gently tickling the back of his mind. Familiarity hangs between the two of them, as fine and delicate as a spiderweb. Kohaku desperately wishes to touch it and <em> know, </em>but is afraid of losing it entirely.</p><p> </p><p>“Who..?” </p><p> </p><p>The mass seemed to sigh.</p><p>
  <em> The contract you’ve signed eats holes in your memory, I see. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I remember you with your tiny hands, helping your grandmother strike matches by holding incense in your palms. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>T</em>
  <em>he fruits you would leave in the autumn, sweet and delicious persimmon.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Memory rushes back for Kohaku like the tide:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> (“Remember, this god once saved your grandfather, so we have to pay our respects,” Grandma says, soft knit maroon vest brushing against his knuckles as they walk together side by side on an old, beaten path. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kohaku jumps excitedly; the vigor of youth giving him a restless energy. His grandmother puts up with it with good grace, enduring the jolts and bumps by her soft, wrinkled hands holding his own steadily. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Like relatives, right? Like when mom and dad come from Tokyo to bring gifts.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “That’s right.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kohaku bows in front of the little stone shrine. “Thank you for saving my grandpa!” And in his child’s heart, it was as if the kami was an honorary family and friend. Sacrilegious, perhaps, and presumptuous, but to a child, there was no higher honor.) </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> You made me very happy when you thought of me as family, </em> the sludge commented. <em> Others had forgotten me. Your grandmother did not, and neither did you.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“But what <em> happened </em>to you?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> When your grandmother passed on, there was no one left to protect me. I was filled, little one. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> Oh. </em>Kohaku feels a lump building in his throat, and he bows before the massive form, disbelief and grief warring in his stomach. “I’ll clean you up,” he chokes out. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I left.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Don’t be sorry. I’m glad to see you. You’re employed here now, aren’t you? I’ll pay. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>When Kohaku rises, his shoulders straighten. They might have sent him out to ward off the Kami, but he didn’t have to listen.</p><p>“We have a customer,” he says, voice strong, even through the thunderous rainfall. </p><p>Voices of protest emit from behind him, and then to his surprise, Yubaba’s joined them: her voice overshadows them all.</p><p>“If the boy wishes to take care of this customer, let him.”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>“Are you crazy!” Lin hisses to Kohaku as soon as he comes in, who maintains a carefully neutral face. “Ugh, just don’t <em>die. </em>Though <em>I</em> might, from the smell,” she wrinkles her nose at the sight of his filthy arm. “I can’t believe that they threw you out to deal with him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Lin, leave the boy alone. He has to take care of a customer,” Yubaba comments. “Welcome, dear customer! Right this way.”</p><p> </p><p>The formless sludge raises a single, filthy limb. Confused, Yubaba opens her mouth. “Wh-“</p><p>Gold deposits on her feet, covering her in the filthy, sewer-like substance.</p><p> </p><p>Lin turns away, coughing violently. It's <em>definitely </em>laughter, Kohaku thinks. “Th-thank you, dear customer,” Yubaba yelps, and Kohaku has to repress the urge to laugh himself. At that moment, Lin shoves a bath token in his palm, hard enough to quell the urge and pats his back hard enough to make him stumble. </p><p> </p><p>Still smiling to himself, Kohaku walks forward. Despite the stench rising all around them, it even feels real. </p><p> </p><p>“Come this way,” he says to the spirit behind him, and as he looks, it nods once.</p><ul>

</ul><p>Kohaku's not entirely sure how he'd managed to remember to even find the right door to get the bath water, but he manages in the end, and the water flows in a massive spout: </p><p>The water pours over the head of the god, and soon, the the floors overflow, sewage mixing with the scented waters-</p><p>Kohaku stumbles; it was a critical mistake. The water seems endless, and he swims desperately against the current, struggling to reach the god.</p><p>A large, invisible hand picks him up. </p><p><em> Do you remember when you first learned to ride a bike? </em>They ask, in that same nostalgic voice and memories swim to the surface: </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kohaku’s grandfather, leathery skin chilled even in the afternoon sun, holding Kohaku’s hand to the handle of the bike. He is saying something. As Kohaku looks up- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku shakes his head, hair floating like seaweed in the current. <em> “Yes,” </em> he answers. Kohaku’s grandfather in his memory- and the god- say as one: <em> Hold on. </em></p><p> </p><p>Kohaku grasps onto something hard. Like a- bike handle-</p><p>He <em> pulls, </em>and pulls, but nothing is forthcoming. </p><p>Feeling a little frantic, he raises his head above the current. Above the roaring water, he calls: “He’s stuck- there’s-”</p><p>A huge intake of air is heard behind him. “That’s no ordinary stink monster!” Yubaba calls out, voice ringing through the bath house. “Alright, everyone- hands on deck!”</p><p>“Ugh, kid, I told you you were too small to handle this!” Lin’s voice suddenly says in his ear, and with surprising firmness, he feels the weight of her large hands around his waist. </p><p>“Don’t let go,” Lin tells him, and he nods. <em> You don’t have to tell me that. </em></p><p>“<em> Heave ho! Heave ho!” </em>he hears from behind him, and for a moment, the handle of the bike threatens to escape from his fingers, slipping in the slime.</p><p>Kohaku tightens his grip harder than he knew how, the soft rubber digging into the meat of his palms.</p><p> </p><p>With a soft <em> pop, </em>the bike comes loose, and with it- remnants of his village’s life. Ms. Soto’s bathroom sink, where he and Taka drew badly misshapen cats in sharpie- Mr. Matsuhara’s tire, from the auto shop-</p><p>All of it came loose in the wake of the bath, leaving an incredible amount of garbage in it’s wake. </p><p> </p><p>The water rises- and seizes him-</p><p><em> Oh. This is what he meant: </em> Kohaku realizes, and an overpowering shame floods him.</p><p><em> I’m sorry, </em> Kohaku weeps then, though it goes unnoticed under the surface. <em> I’m sorry we burdened you with so much. </em></p><p>Gentle hands embrace him, cool and leathery. <em> It’s alright, </em> the god replies. <em> I’m free now. But I might need some cleaning again, sometime. You’ll wash my back, right? </em></p><p>Kohaku nods, miserable. </p><p> </p><p><em> Look at you, </em> the god gently nudges. <em> You’ve grown up faster than I thought. I have an engagement gift for you. </em></p><p> </p><p><em> An- an ENGAGEMENT gift?! </em>Kohaku sputters, so shocked that he forgets to be miserable.</p><p><em> You’re not engaged yet? </em> The god replies, humorous. <em> Well, it’s a matter of time anyway. Consider this my gift to you. </em></p><p> </p><p>Something hard is shoved in his palm, and when Kohaku opens his eyes, he looks upon the weathered face of the being he saved. <em> “Oh,” </em>Kohaku says, soft. The face of his grandfather-but not- looks back at him; a face he’d only seen in sepia photos.</p><p> </p><p>The god smiles. “As I thought, it really is good to see you, grand-nephew.”</p><p> </p><p>The god rises before Kohaku, grand and alien at once- and bursts through the bath house, an enormous streak of blue and silver, leaving Kohaku perfectly dry, staring after his grand-uncle.</p><p> </p><p>The spirits around them seemed to have gathered all around to witness the sight of the grand cleaning, cheering alongside the staff as the god left.</p><p>Kohaku feels their joy like it’s his own- he smiles, and through the cheering, he feels <em>something</em> settling, massive, unseen.</p><p> </p><p>At the time, he thinks it’s their approval. He’s only half right.</p><p> </p><p><em> “Look! Gold!” </em>Kohaku hears beneath him: the staff’s feet stampede to where he is, digging in the wreckage, and as he turns, he meets the gaze of Yubaba, who is, uncharacteristically not looking at the gold. </p><p>She looks down from her perch, as if she were a massive bird, <em> straight at Kohaku.  </em></p><p>Then she smiles. But it’s not a nice smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone, thank Haku! It’s thanks to him that there’s enough gold to go around. You entrusted him, and he delivered. He’s a credit to the bath house!”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>It’s when Kohaku is walking up to his assigned resting area that the <em> entire building sways. </em>Lights flicker, off and then on. </p><p> </p><p>He feels a hand on his shoulder, steadying him. <em> Lin, </em>he thinks. </p><p>“What the fresh hell is that?” Lin murmurs, alarmed. “That’s no ordinary storm. Someone’s <em> pissed.”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Kohaku’s brows furrow, and he turns: the lantern above them is swaying gently, throwing them both into harsh light and shadow. “What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>Lin’s mouth twists. “We should probably hurry down and see if they’ve started making sandbags, if it’s gotten to this point. It’s not a storm any longer- it’s a <em> typhoon.” </em></p><p> </p><p>So it <em> was </em> a typhoon. <em> Why? </em> It was <em> spring. </em>Not summer, not fall. But the wind…</p><p><em> Someone’s pissed, </em>Lin’d said. </p><p> </p><p>Heart in throat, Kohaku hurries down the wooden stairs after Lin.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OH MY GOD THANK U GUYS FOR ALL OF THE FEEDBACKKKKKK I DIE!!! THANK YOU<br/>So this chapter largely explored Kohaku's perspective! He's a hard working good kid... bless him<br/>I thought it would be sad and sweet if the god ended up being related to Kohaku; it's the sins of his village that led to this moment. But in the end, it worked out.</p><p>I've always wondered, kind of about the whole "It rained enough to turn the land into the ocean" part of Spirited Away. In this fic it's caused by Sen's blood through the clouds and her fury; she's pissed beyond belief OTL lol,, she just wants to come back to Kohaku and make sure he's okay man... Not be caught in between a high stakes, Facebook drama sibling spat LOL</p><p>Be prepared for so much Kohaku/Sen feels next chapter. So much. I'm so excited to write it LOLOL</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Growing sick on the journey, my dreams run around a desolate field</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This land isn’t her city, it <em> wasn’t </em>and never would be, because this world belonged to no one and anyone, but she’s already paid her price in blood and choking fury, in servitude and indenture.</p><p> </p><p>As she climbs higher and higher, to thinner and thinner air against the howling wind, the paper bodies dig into her flesh, burrowing, like fleas, as if to shield themselves from the cold. </p><p> </p><p>(This is the price to pay for meddling in the affairs of witches, for they burn brightly and fiercely, and tangle their hands in the matters of fate and consequence)</p><p> </p><p>(Bring back the seal, dragon, the papers whisper as they dig, and we might consider mercy)</p><p>(Bring the seal to me, Sen, and we’ll see about what remains of your life afterwards, Yubaba adds)</p><p> </p><p>She snarls, and shakes herself, to no avail: they cling on with all their might, despite it all. </p><p> </p><p><em> Don’t attempt to patronize me, for I am valley and mountain, my breath grows pebbles into boulders lush with moss, and </em> you <em> only deal in magic.  </em></p><p> </p><p>The clouds have formed in a massive pinwheel beneath her feet, spinning like an ancient gods toy. </p><p> </p><p><em> Then</em>: it builds like a whisper in her ear, with the scent of ozone.</p><p><em> Just what do you think you’re doing? </em>A great voice rumbles in her ear.</p><p> </p><p>At first, it stills her; the thin, thread drop of clarity even in the throes of pain- when a predator has been spotted by a larger predator.</p><p> </p><p>And then Sen snarls; she<em> knows </em> this presence. She’s seen it in a bathtub of blood, between the fist of a child.</p><p><em> “You,” </em>she spits out, blood falling to earth. </p><p>As she whips around, a long ribbon in the light of the moon, she comes nearly nose to nose with a truly frightening entity:</p><p> </p><p>They <em>rippled </em>with light, unforgiving, blinding and their eyes were two points of fire that flickered, erratic and electric; their mane was a million strikes of lightning, and in their palms were three fingers; this she found the most difficult to look at. </p><p> </p><p>One finger was the <em> past, </em> with millennia upon millennia stretching it into oblivion, the middle was the <em> present (everything happening all at once, a hundred cars honking, a million dead in their graves, the cry of a child being born across the world) </em> and the last was the <em> future, </em>the eternity of possibility, the fulfillment of all promises made and the death of everything.</p><p> </p><p>Yes, she knew who he was. Sen spits at his feet. “<em> Raijin,” </em>she utters. </p><p> </p><p>His face twists- and the air splits with the clap of unearthly drums that is his voice.</p><p><em> You dare usurp my power? Are you not a servant of Yubaba? </em> <em><br/>
<br/>
</em></p><p><em> Yet </em> another <em> player in this god-awful family drama? </em>she thinks:</p><p>Her eyes narrowed to slits, and the fury in her throat tasted <em> red.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Insanity drives her next words, lifting them from her chest unbidden: “You mean the mother of your <em>child? </em>Who you have not visited <em>once?” </em></p><p> </p><p>The god’s eyes spark, tendrils of light flickering into existence and <em> out. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Do not be impertinent, dragon. I could make you regret it, very much. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Reckless, Sen bares her teeth in a hard, hard smile against the sound of thunder. “And I could make <em> you </em> regret it, very much,” she spits out. It’s hard to concentrate- like grasping stars with her bare hands, hot then cold, and far away. </p><p> </p><p>“Your son is not grown right now, but I am raising him more than you. If I die at<em> your </em> hands, my blood will coat your hands in a way that will never wash clean.” It was defiance, a condemnation, a spit in the face of heaven.</p><p> </p><p>A brilliant flash of light illuminates the space between them: with the surety of one who knows that their life is in peril, Sen <em> moves. </em> The wave prickles across her skin, even the papers stop in fear; knowing that their destruction could be imminent.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The skies shine behind her, purple and white. She does not look back.</p><p> </p><p>Her stomach gives one, long pulse of pain, and with it, nausea rose. She fights it down.</p><p> </p><p><em> My son will not have time to avenge the likes of you; </em> Raijin states, surety in his voice. <em> He will herald the calling of the new age, and his reach will blanket humanity. </em></p><p> </p><p><em> It sounds like you’re in trouble, </em>a different voice speaks up; it comes from the roaring sea of lava in her stomach.</p><p> </p><p><em> The seal, </em>Sen realizes through the haze. </p><p><em> I need you to stay alive to return to Zeniba; </em> the seal says, laughing again. <em> So let’s defy the edict of heaven. </em></p><p> </p><p>Sen knew she was very close to death. But even if she stayed alive for a moment longer, there was a chance she could see Kohaku again.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine,” Sen replies, and <em> smiles. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> * </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Lin grunts as she lifts the sandbag. “You think you got that?” she asks Kohaku kindly above the din, who is attempting to not breathe too heavily through his nose as he lifts. “Yeah,” he replies, with effort.</p><p>With the “hmmm” of someone who is not entirely convinced, Lin continues to the front door.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku staggers behind her, waddling awkwardly on the polished floors, and wonders how Lin could possibly continue to look graceful. Maybe it was something you gained as you grew.</p><p> </p><p>“What a night, huh?” He hears one of the frogs say to each other in passing. “First the sludge, then <em> this </em> . Wonder who’s out there in all of this. Why does everything happen when Mistress Sen is <em> away </em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Probably ‘cause she’s busy <em> solving </em> everything for you,” Lin mutters under her breath, rolling her eyes, and with a grunt, slaps the sandbag onto the ground. “Ugh, we’re gonna have to tarp the windows and balconies later.”</p><p>Laying his sandbag with a lot less force, Kohaku tries to sound like he’s not wheezing. As the two return inside for more supplies, he ventures:</p><p> </p><p>“Is S- Mistress Sen really involved in day to day operations?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm,” Lin hums, and shoots Kohaku a searching look. Somehow, he feels embarrassed by it: he hunches his shoulders slightly. “<em> Well, </em> ” Lin drawls, though she looks like she’s trying not to grin. “Aren’t <em> you </em> curious.”</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku can feel his face heating up, and as he bends over to pick up another bag, he tries to hide it in the burlap- and sneezes. Lin pats his shoulder in consolation.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, kid. Yubaba owns us like dogs, but she’s been running the bath house.”</p><p> </p><p>“What’s she like?” </p><p> </p><p>Lin hums. The rain pelted the ground in angry, hard spurts; the sound of their footsteps were soon drowned in the growing, anxious chatter of the bath girls and frogs alike. </p><p>“As a boss? She’s… she’s a good one. Very fair, and sometimes pretty generous,” she winks at Kohaku. “Makes living here a little easier when she does that.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “Gives it from her own paycheck when we’ve done a <em> really </em> good job, even if Yubaba would be <em> furious </em>if she knew.” </p><p> </p><p>Kohaku’s eyebrows raise, then he frowns as it occurs to him:</p><p>“So why’d you say that you were glad there weren’t two of her?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah man, why’d you remember that,” Lin mumbles. “Well… I don’t know if you can feel it, because you’re a human; but for the rest of us…” she trails off, seemingly attempting to gather her thoughts. “Mistress Sen is <em> very </em>powerful,” Lin states slowly, soberly. “More powerful than the guests that come, more powerful than all of us staff combined,” her voice drops again, though not quite to a whisper, and she says defiantly: “more than Yubaba.” </p><p> </p><p>Kohaku’s jaw drops. </p><p>“So-“</p><p>“I still remember when she first arrived. I’d just started,” Lin muses, lost in her thoughts. “It was… I’d just <em> never </em> seen <em> anything </em> like it. But Yubaba tricked her into servitude, and she’s been here ever since. She could have felt resentful about it. Took it out on us. But she never did. She worked to gain our trust instead. Not that I think she really <em>enjoys</em> being here- none of us do.”</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku is silent. His heart is pounding, very hard.</p><p> </p><p>“Sometimes I wonder why she’s tried so hard to be good to us,” Lin adds. “She could’ve easily demanded it with fear, but she hasn’t...She’s<em> benevolent, </em> you know, but we never have forgotten once who or <em> what </em> she is. It’s just impossible, because you’re <em> reminded </em> , <em> every </em>time you meet her.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>(Kohaku, avoided at class. At lunch. Only one or two curious boys who braved talking to a part foreigner boy. Because foreigners could be rough. And crude. Interesting, good looking, but not… enough.)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>A pang strikes in his heart. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>(No matter how often he tried to reach his hand out, help others, they only had to look at his eyes and be reminded- that he was other. Strange. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Even when friendships grew and he began to fit in even a little, there was still a gap.)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Somehow, he thinks, Sen must’ve felt <em> lonely. </em></p><p> </p><p>“But really, <em>I’m</em> not the one who knows her best.” She lowers her voice, properly this time: “you should talk to Kamaji. She’d spend her breaks with him.”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>As the wind whips around her in a furious torrent, Sen opens her maw-</p><p>Magic as pure as a supernova whips around her and wraps her tightly, draining color from her world.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> As so below, as above </em>
</p><p> </p><p>As the streets overran with river, crystal torrent becoming brown and black with filth, the heavens begin to move ever faster, with the fury that heralds an omen; even Raijin pauses- and as the storm swirls, the lightning becomes reeds, the clouds the soil and the rain-</p><p>
  <em> Heaven’s net is wide, and it’s mesh is fine </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> For it shall punish all wrongdoers </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Fate burns inside of her stomach; and somewhere in her she faintly registers: this moment was <em> constructed; </em> even her rage was calculated by an unknown force- fate was a gamble of probability and consequence, and Raijin was a god but even <em> he </em> would bow to fate-</p><p> </p><p>The storm becomes a grand river, sweeping everything in it’s path; a grand current that swallowed everything:</p><p>(You have paid the price of blood unwillingly given; have the a god’s favor, and contain the seal of knowledge, yes, the prices have been met by fate-)</p><p> </p><p>(<em> Fate loves you, </em> the seal whispers, <em> she’ll save her best tricks for you) </em></p><p> </p><p>And in that moment, though she is an infinitesimal existence before Raijin, she has become a grand Dragon of Heaven, if even for a moment, and Heaven is her river.</p><p>Sen <em> roars, </em>and this time, Raijin is the one given pause.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>Kohaku struggles to open the wooden doors; the wind is fierce and unforgiving, battling his grip. </p><p>“Holy shit,” he hears behind him, in a kind of voice that can’t quite believe what they’re looking at.</p><p>Kohaku looks up: the clouds above had become <em> strange; </em> the sky was moving in a way that seemed nearly unnatural, as if being sucked into an unseen current. A tenseness settles over his shoulders like dread. “...Are we going to be okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, we’ll be <em> fine </em> ,” Lin reassures him. “Yubaba will protect the bath house. <em> She’ll </em> receive the brunt of it- she’s obligated to. Contract covers it.  And,” Lin adds thoughtfully, “She probably could offer discounts to the guests if they agree to help- I heard she used to do that once in a blue moon, before Mistress Sen came along. In fact, I’ve wondered if she got her because she was being cheap. But... that’s a <em> big... </em> whatever that is. Whoever’s doing that…” she shakes her head. “Could get ugly.” she pauses, and steps forward towards the rattling glass. “You know what, give the rest of the tarps to me. Go take some supplies to Kamaji- maybe an extra board of wood to cover his door. If the boiler room’s messed up, we’re <em> all </em>messed up.”</p><p>Behind her, there was a large sound: both of them whip around.</p><p>With a groan, one of the roofs of the theme park peels off as easily as skin from a tangerine, it’s shingles disintegrating into black and green confetti.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The lightning strikes all around, but it is useless now, harmless. The knowledge of millennia flows with her, still sealed, but in an unseen current, like an underground river.</p><p>Raijin rages with his fury, but Sen cannot be touched, because the seal has chosen her as it’s master, even for a moment..</p><p>So she grits her teeth, even as black swims into her vision. </p><p> </p><p>But a massive hand reaches out; the future, past, and present shining brilliantly,<em> cruelly. </em></p><p> </p><p><em> You little fool. You don’t think I can’t see where your fate leads? </em>And for a critical moment, Sen is confused- </p><p>A hand made of calamity wraps itself around her string of fate, pulsing red and vibrant.</p><p> </p><p><em> No! </em>She screams, and-</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku emerges from the side garden of the pathway that had led to the boiler room, and with great difficulty, attempts to jog against the wind. </p><p>The wind lifts him with invisible hands, and for several heart-stopping moments, he thinks that he’ll drift away, helpless to the current.</p><p>Yubaba is standing out there in the wind and the rain, palms open before her, muttering furiously. Rain surrounded her in an unnatural halo, just barely touching her skin. Balls of white mist sunk from her hands, rippling into thin air before her.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku wonders if he should go back in and go fetch her a towel, at least. It was miserably cold- <em> he </em>was certainly miserable.</p><p> </p><p>As he takes another step, an enormous <em> crack </em>splits the ground behind him; white light blankets the world, and for a moment, Kohaku thinks that he’s dead.</p><p> </p><p>His ears sing the song of a discordant bell, long and persistent, and as he blinks spots out of his vision, the first thing he registers is the sight of Yubaba, her bulging eyes staring at him out of her wrinkled face in shock. </p><p> </p><p>Thoroughly unnerved, Kohaku looks away and back at the damage: The garden ground where Kohaku was standing just a minute ago was smoking, black smoke pouring out of the bushes with the scent of rotten eggs. The air above it <em> shines </em>, swirling angrily with a pink haze.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> If I had continued standing there, I’d probably be dead. </em>
</p><p>Thoroughly shaken, ears ringing, Kohaku goes back in.</p><p> </p><p>Unseen, Yubaba gazes after him with narrowed eyes. </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Sen wheezes; everything has become very cold.</p><p>Raijin’s hand is sticking out, slick and red, out of her serpentine torso.</p><p> </p><p>The rain falls around them in sheets, pelting them both. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> You fool. They’re human, aren’t they? They’ll die anyway. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“And why shouldn’t I?” Sen replies, voice slurring. “He’s got... <em>nothing</em> to do with this fight. And anyway, our lives’ worth aren't measured in lifespan. If it means his life continues...” She breathes painfully. “You and I will die too, whether now or millennia beyond. Go visit your son, you idiot. He won’t be a child forever.”</p><p> </p><p>(The truth of this world is: it doesn’t really matter how powerful you are. You bend to the natural order of things whether you like it or not.)</p><p> </p><p>Raijin’s face twists in an emotion that looks very much like <em> sympathy.  </em></p><p><em> I can’t go myself, but my other son can, </em> he tells her, and this time his voice sounds like thunder from very far away. <em> Go back to your loved one, dragon. I acknowledge you, </em> and the divine blessing falls on her like a shroud, though for a funeral or for comfort, she knew not which.</p><p> </p><p>Raijin’s hand withdraws, glittering and burning white, and Sen falls.</p><p> </p><p><em> Well. the papers are gone, anyway, </em>she thinks to herself, and blackness overtakes her.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p>“Kamaji?”</p><p>The sound of snoring filled the air- and the flicker of the fire, warm and forgiving, colored the sight of the storage room before him. It felt like a balm on his soul.</p><p>As he slid the door shut, he heard Kamaji wake with a start. “Wh-Haku?” Kohaku hears, creaky and raspy, like an old door hinge. </p><p> </p><p>He finds himself smiling. “Hi, Kamaji.”</p><p>Two large hands make themselves apparent, rubbing at where Kamaji's eyes were, the sunglasses bobbing up and down.</p><p>“What brings you back here?” </p><p> </p><p>“I’ve brought tea,” Kohaku answers, raising a kettle, and Kamaji lets out a pleased grunt. “Taking cues from Lin, I see. Well, bring it here,” he says kindly, and Kohaku reaches, the arches of his feet stretching as he tippy-toed to lift it to Kamaji. His arms felt like water, after all the sandbags.</p><p>A gnarled hand grasps the handle, and with no small amount of relief, Kohaku releases his grip.</p><p>“There we go. Well, it’s quite a storm we’ve got going outside, haven’t we?” Kamaji says, pouring the tea onto one of his leftover rice bowls. </p><p>“Lin says it’s a person who’s causing it…?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, that’s what I’ve gathered, too. No matter, there’s not much to be done about it. Yubaba will take care of it- it’s what she’s good for, in this place,” Kamaji winks. “Greedy as she is, she’ll take care of what’s hers.”</p><p><em>That's what Lin said. They all must have some faith in Yubaba, at least, </em>Kohaku realizes.</p><p>For a time, they sit comfortably. Kohaku relishes the warmth of the fire, and the silence is broken only by the crackle of the fire and the loud, noisy sips of Kamaji’s tea.</p><p>Mustering up his courage, Kohaku speaks up:</p><p>“Lin told me you knew Mistress Sen.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” Kamaji replies, carefully. “Well… yes. But you know," he adds sharply, "Aside from Lin, myself and now you, no one else knows that.”</p><p>Kohaku frowns. “Is it a secret?”</p><p> </p><p>Kamaji nods vigorously. “Very much so.”</p><p> </p><p>How strange. “Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because if they knew she had a friend, there would be no end of trouble. She’s not in a position to have friends in this place. Can’t be playing favorites, for one- and <em>Yubaba</em>…”</p><p>Dread rises in Kohaku, fast and thick. “What do you mean? Yubaba?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yubaba wouldn’t like it. No, she wouldn’t like it at all. It’s better to keep a being like Mistress Sen isolated, to someone like her.”</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku digests this. Something black and vile bubbles in his stomach, and he feels sick.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Why </em>?” He bursts out.</p><p>“That…” Kamaji sighs. “I’ll tell you later. Some things should be told in the light of day.” he settles. </p><p> </p><p>They sit in silence, uncomfortable. Kohaku feels oddly off-center, shaken. Sen had been a rock to hold onto, a reliable source of comfort. Somehow, knowing more about her life here... made him frustrated. There was something... <em>unjust</em> about it. Someone who'd been so kind to him was likely suffering much more than he'd thought.</p><p>He shakes his head.<em> I'll have to ask her about it later,</em> he thinks, and decides to put it away for another date.</p><p>A small, niggling concern coughs politely at that moment, and Kohaku remembers:</p><p>“I… the god who came earlier gifted me something. Said it was an engagement gift,” Kohaku rummages around in his clothes, missing the sharp glance of Kamaji.</p><p> </p><p>“Here,” he brings out the little ball, and offers it for inspection. “Do you know what this is?”</p><p> </p><p>Kamaji leans over, nearly precariously, and cautiously gives a sniff- and chokes.</p><p>Coughing, he pulls back.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s medicine, Haku. <em> Powerful </em> medicine.” Eager to expunge whatever was left of his inspection, Kamaji drinks tea straight from the kettle. </p><p>Rivulets pouring from his chin, he gestures vaguely in Kohaku’s direction. “Don’t tell people that you’ve got that, alright? And for goodness sake, don’t say it was an <em> engagement </em>gift. Only bring it out when you absolutely mean to use it. It’s an excellent gift.”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Sen falls for a very long time, even in her dreams: the sight of the milky shines bleakly above her, ancient and unforgiving.</p><p><em> I think that went quite well, don’t you? </em>The seal comments to her, amused.</p><p>Sen groans, in the way that people do in dreams. “You’ll probably kill me just by being inside of me, even<em> if </em>I live past this.”</p><p><em> Spoilsport, </em> the seal admonishes. <em> Anyway, Yubaba or Zeniba might kill you first. You’re like a meat sack that’s been tenderized. I haven’t been fought over like this in such a long time- it’s quite delightful, isn’t it. </em></p><p> </p><p>“Delightful for <em> you, </em>maybe- and aren’t you a little old to be giggling over being fought over?”</p><p><em> Dragon, no one ever outgrows feeling wanted. Oh yes, </em> it adds, nearly casually: <em> wake up. </em></p><p> </p><p>Sen’s eyes flash open: the sunrise has risen, golden and glorious; she is falling through clouds of hazy cotton candy, mist and rain washing her clean; but the blood oozes back to the surface nonetheless, thick and red. </p><p> </p><p>With a start, Sen realizes, even through the exhaustion and pain that she is still plummeting to earth, and <em> very </em> close to the ground. <em> Oh. I’m still alive. </em></p><p><em> For now, </em>another voice chimes in.</p><p> </p><p>With the weariness of those returning home after a long battle, she arcs and dances through the air in flight, flying back to the bathhouse.</p><p> </p><p>The fury had largely evaporated; it was difficult to muster the energy to be angry anymore, though a part of her still bristled with it, somewhere deep, tucked away. <em> I wonder if the bath house is alright, </em> the thought comes, oozing out of the agonizing blackness. <em> Yubaba can’t defy the terms of her own contract after all. </em></p><p> </p><p>It was just about the only real dig that Sen could’ve mustered without defying the contract itself. In the end, her fury, though fierce, wasn’t meant to be deadly. Just a warning. </p><p> </p><p>Then:</p><p><em> Kohaku, </em> she remembers. <em> Raijin. </em></p><p> </p><p>And as she looks, fear in her heart, the red string floats through the air with her, still yearning for completion.</p><p><em> Thank god, </em> she weeps, though the tears are dashed by the wind. <em> You’re alive. </em></p><p> </p><p>He’s probably sleeping, she knows. But she wants to see his face, even if it’s for the last time. </p><p>Relief in her heart, she flies on, dripping blood as she went. </p><p>The storm had eased; Raijin had done his best to clean up her fury after her, for which she felt oddly grateful for. </p><p> </p><p>But with a sound like hundreds of birds, calamity came.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p><em> You nosey parker, I’m almost dead already, can’t you just </em> let up?!! Sen barks, exasperated, the papers shredding her back. <em> No can do, </em> Zeniba snaps back. <em> You’re going to give the seal to my sister, and I can’t allow that. It’s no business of mine if I get it from your corpse instead- actually, it’d probably be easier. And, don’t think that I’ll be forgetting that you almost flooded my house. </em></p><p> </p><p><em> It’s not my </em> fault <em> that she felt like stealing it from you! </em>Except Sen supposed it was, because it was really a punishment for visiting Zeniba and misleading Yubaba about Kohaku.</p><p> </p><p><em> It’s your fault for signing a contract with her, is what. </em>Zeniba replies dryly, and that, unfortunately, Sen agreed with.</p><p>But instead of answering, she flies faster, trying to outsmart the witch, body arcing and curling in the light of the dawn.</p><p> </p><p>Then she hears <em> it </em>, a voice in the distance:</p><p> </p><p>“Sen! Sen! Over here! Come this way!” His voice is like fresh dew; a pure sound in the morning.</p><p>As those words pierced her mind, for the first time, the pain eases.</p><p> </p><p>For a brief eternity, held under her tongue, she looks upon Kohaku with inhuman eyes, and realizes, like a tsunami crashing on the shores, filling the landscape of her soul:</p><p><em> Koi no Yokan; </em> she does not say in her inhuman tongue. <em> Not love at first sight. I knew loving you was inevitable. </em></p><p> </p><p>Helpless to resist, she answers the call.</p><p> </p>
<ul>

</ul><p>Despite her distance, it seems that Sen hears him: she makes a beeline for him, then abruptly turns up- and down- she bursts through the balcony, making him drop the tarps that he was collecting. The amulets follow her determinedly like a winter storm, angry and white: amazingly, Kohaku manages to slam the doors shut in time, and watches in shock as the papers plaster themselves to the sheets of glass. </p><p> </p><p>“Amulets..?” he whispers, confused and holds the doors together determinedly, though the glass shakes with the force of the charmed papers.</p><p> </p><p>As he looks to his side, Sen snakes, serpentine in the narrow hallway, utterly inhuman and beautiful, resplendent in her devastation. </p><p>The stench of blood is nearly overpowering- streaks of it cover every surface, rust brown and gleaming ruby red.</p><p> </p><p>There is a terrible wound where he thinks her shoulder or neck could be, and her mouth, fanged and ferocious drips with blood slowly, sickeningly, in a <em> plip plip plip </em>on the floor. </p><p> </p><p><em> (Someone’s pissed, </em>Lin said)</p><p> </p><p>Was <em> she </em> caught up in that? What on earth <em> happened? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Tell me how I can help you,” Kohaku begs, and his voice cracks.</p><p> </p><p>Sen snakes closer and closer, and Kohaku feels like a fly trapped in amber, helpless to resist, trembling not in fear, but in anticipation.</p><p> </p><p>She stops in front of him, and as her head touches his own, his head goes fuzzy, as if he was viewing the world through a static tv.</p><p>Unconsciously, his eyes close.</p><p><em> Kohaku, </em>she says to him in a language that he knows beyond the human tongue, his name like it’s the secret to existence.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku tastes warm salt on his chin, and shaking, reaches to touch her enormous jaw. “<em> Please, </em>let me help you. You’re covered in blood..”</p><p>Sen bares her teeth, but not in anger: she looks instead as if she was about to say something.</p><p> </p><p>But then, like a puppet with it’s strings cut, her serpentine body folds limply along the wood with a <em> thud, </em>long streams of thick muscle and torso hitting the floor.</p><p> </p><p>At the sound, the paper begins to peel away from the window, drifting to the four winds.</p><p> </p><p>Kohaku stares limply in shock. Then: <em> “Sen!” </em>he falls to his knees in front of her, feeling for her breathing- surprisingly, it’s even and steady, despite the gaping wound.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Now what? </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay so maybe I lied just a little re: Kohaku/Sen moments train. This chapter got away from me LOLLLL<br/>I really love big sister Lin. Also, common sense *may* have fled Sen when she was going batshit when she decided to make an enormous hurricane, but she knew that Yubaba would protect the bath house. </p><p>So how do we FEEL ABOUT THE ANGST TRAIN LOLOLOL,,, Kohaku's learned some more about Sen's life from their mutual friends, which is something that didn't occur in canon. I hope I did alright in that regard- I was tempted to drag out Kamaji's conversation with Kohaku, but this chapter was already getting long LMAO,, </p><p>ugh there's so much I wanna talk about in this chapter with you guys. Thank you so much for your loyal readership!! Leave some comments bc MAN</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. I trusted him, the man I met in the night of fireflies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kohaku kneels to the floorboards, and with a trembling hand, touches Sen’s sharp, serpentine cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to try to save you, okay? Just like you saved me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he pulls his hand away, it’s covered in blood.</span>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Grandma, I don’t really know what to do. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku slams the nearby linen closet open, and begins digging. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinks </span>
  </em>
  <span>he knows what to do, but what if it’s wrong? What if he’s wasting valuable time? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stops… and exhales. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Get it together, Kohaku. She doesn’t need your self doubt. Sen’s bleeding out and she needs aid right now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku’s helped Taka’s older brother bandage up from Kendo practice. He was a sword nut, so Taka’s older brother taught himself- then Taka, then Kohaku how to bandage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it was just for </span>
  <em>
    <span>bruises. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Frustrated, Kohaku yanks hard on a thin sheet, which comes loose, sending him off balance. The white pile dangerously wobbles, but remains amazingly steady. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sucks in a breath. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please help me. Please… just don’t let this go wrong.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lifting an edge to his teeth, he begins tearing the fabric.</span>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku gently wipes away as much blood as he can possibly get at. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wells up between her vibrant scales, ruby red and glistening between shades of pink sunrise and sea foam.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the largest wound of all looked vaguely </span>
  <em>
    <span>charred, </span>
  </em>
  <span>as if someone had stuck a burning spear through her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku grimaces unconsciously. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How do I even begin to manage that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then, to his surprise, the long, winding body tensed, then dwindled to the familiar form that he knew; long brown hair pooled between his thighs, and as he rolled her over, the exhausted, blood-smudged face of Sen came into the afternoon light. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wearily, her eyes blink open, but only for a moment. Kohaku sucks in a breath. “Sen?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dark eyes search for his own, and as she catches sight of him, there is a long exhale- she nearly looks like she’s smiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her eyes flutter back shut.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And as Kohaku looked down, the massive hole had made itself apparent through her shoulder, scorch marks charring the peach silk of the kimono.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fresh horror creeps up his chest, cold and heavy. It somehow felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> real, seeing it on a human body.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not her neck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he tries to reassure himself. But still a heavy wound. “Sen?” He asks again, full of trepidation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only steady breathing answered him, and he sits back, exhaling heavily. He attempts to gather his thoughts: </span>
  <em>
    <span>She must’ve known what I was thinking, somehow. Let’s try to not waste this.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Casting around for adequate covers, he does his best to preserve her modesty. “I’m going to have to remove the kimono part that’s surrounding your wound,” he tells her, feeling a little lost. “Sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’d be better if he had more materials to work with than just dry linen, but he was afraid to leave her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The hours pass, but Sen doesn’t wake, though her bleeding slowed and clotted. Instead she’s developed a burning fever, with flushed cheeks and sweat pouring down her skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More than once, Kohaku wonders if he should just run for Lin, but something holds him back. So he strokes her hair and wipes away her sweat with leftover linen- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, finally, Lin comes to fetch him for work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haku! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Haku</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen’s eyes </span>
  <em>
    <span>snap</span>
  </em>
  <span> open at the sound of Lin’s voice, and stare up at Kohaku with an unnerving intensity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her eyes seem nearly black, like burning coals in her flushed face. Kohaku, who had been about to shout back, is struck silent, closing his mouth with a snap. “Do not tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m here,” Sen rasps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sen commands, nearly harsh. Then, her gaze softens: “Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>that breaks Kohaku: his shoulders slump. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” he whispers. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be alive when I’m back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen smiles, and she says: “I promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unseen, the string hums.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s late; the guests have nearly all gone to bed, and so had most of the staff. Kohaku trudges to the kitchens, and wonders, a little desperately, how to get extra food and drink without attracting anyone’s ire. Dinner had long since come and gone- and he couldn’t sneak any away under Lin’s gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I really need some soup and sake, is what.” Kohaku mumbles under his breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, ah.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looks up; a long black shadow looms beside him, long and </span>
  <em>
    <span>wide</span>
  </em>
  <span>: A noh’s mask stares down at him, smiling in it’s rigid way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There is an empty teacup resting in it’s hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The customer I let in, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku realizes, after a moment of staring. “Oh! Do you want a refill?” he guesses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, ah.” it pushes the cup into his hands, and bowing, Kohaku makes his way to the kitchens. “Excuse me sirs,” he calls through the curtain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it, kid?” The frog asks rather brusquely, but not meanly. Their attitude had undergone a rather radical shift with the addition of gold in the mix, apparently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s a customer outside- he’s asking for tea?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then, with a presence like a shadow, Kohaku </span>
  <em>
    <span>feels </span>
  </em>
  <span>something on the back of his neck, and his hair begins to stand on end.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Miso, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the shadow groans. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sake. Rice.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To their credit, the frogs look only mildly surprised. “We’ll get right on it, dear customer,” they say, and with that, they start shooting warning looks at Kohaku until Kohaku gets the hint: he begins shooing out the noh spirit of the entrance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as Kohaku has finished getting them back to the hallway, a frog comes hurrying out after them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here you are, dear customer, we hope you enjoy your stay.” Steaming soup and tea, a cloud of fragrant rice, and a large bottle of sake were all present on the tray.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, ah.” The spirit nods, seemingly satisfied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Handing the tray to Kohaku briskly, the frog bows, and rushes back to the kitchen without another word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku tentatively offers the tray in the spirit’s direction. “Shall we go back to your room, then?” But at this point, Kohaku was worried about leaving Sen for any longer- still, he didn’t have a choice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two shadowy appendages push </span>
  <em>
    <span>against </span>
  </em>
  <span>the tray he’s holding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, ah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What..?” Kohaku stumbles backward, narrowly missing spilling some of the liquid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, ah.” The shadow shakes it’s head, and gestures. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You have it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku’s jaw unhinges a little in shock, then closes. “Thank you,” he replies, hushed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, ah.” And with that, apparently satisfied, the shadowy spirit floats away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>True to her word, Sen is indeed alive when he comes back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s even awake, though now looking a little ashen: he catches her gaze as she turns to look at who’s coming through the doorway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku sets down the tray hastily. “Sen!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m alive,” she replies, smiling, and he nearly hugs her, barely stopping himself in an aborted movement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad. </span>
  <em>
    <span>So glad,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he whispers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. I’m sorry to be a burden.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The phrase catches on a thread of memory: Kohaku shakes his head angrily. Why did people say that? It’s not like they wanted to be old, or sick, or injured. They probably wanted to be up and around like everyone else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not. I...I have food for you, if you feel you can eat. And we can treat your wounds with alcohol.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen clearly hesitates, then: “I don’t know if I can. I… I might not be with you much longer. You should have it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This-</span>
  </em>
  <span> like nothing else, destroys Kohaku: He feels his world peeling at the edges, withering away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>what she means by that. Die? Sen can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>die. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No! Why? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Should I- shouldn’t I just get help?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen hesitates, glancing upwards. “Probably not. This... is more peaceful.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But…</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>In his desperation, it comes to Kohaku then in a flash, and hope rises dangerously in his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I.. I have medicine. It was a gift from a god,” he confesses, tremulous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t tell people you have it, Haku. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But wasn’t it </span>
  <em>
    <span>worth</span>
  </em>
  <span> it? If it was to save her life?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen turns her face, looking at him as he rummages for it in his clothes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her expression breaks his heart in it’s poignancy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because it was the face of someone who’s already accepted the spectre of death, but desperately wants to cling to life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a mortal’s expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But..I don’t know if it’ll work,” Kohaku confesses as he brings it out, past a building lump in his throat. “It might make things worse. I don’t know if I can handle it if you die because of me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen reaches up to touch his cheek, pale and trembling: her fingers caress his hot skin, and they feel so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cold.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “It’s… okay,” she whispers. “Don’t cry,” and when she smiles, it’s heartfelt. It just might be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. “I’m just glad to see you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too,” he whispers in turn, past the lump.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a sigh, she adjusts her head to lay in his lap: </span>
  <em>
    <span>she can’t sit up,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he realizes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She opens her mouth; and in that moment, Kohaku is painfully aware of the trust that Sen had in him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With trembling fingers, he lifts the ball of medicine to her mouth, and obediently, she bites it, bit by bit, her expression furrowing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the last is finished, Sen lets out a sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abruptly, she rolls over off of his lap on all fours, and heaves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sen!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gags on her own bile, possibly in an attempt to vocalize a reassurance. Frantic, Kohaku shoves the leftover linens underneath her, watching as they slowly bled red. “Sen, it’s okay, it’s okay, you’re going to be okay,” he frantically whispers, trying to lift her hair away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then, as she heaves, </span>
  <em>
    <span>something black and slimy</span>
  </em>
  <span> came out of her stomach. Horrified, Kohaku stares at it mutely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then it </span>
  <em>
    <span>moves. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It dances off of the linens, narrowly missing the tray, racing through the hallway to escape, skittering as quick as a cockroach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Years of training came to the forefront: he sprints after it, and with laser-like precision, slams his foot down on the creature. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instinctually, he immediately regrets it: black slime covered his foot, and cringing, he lifts his foot up to look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh well, it’s definitely dead. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looks up to see Sen, who had paused in her retching. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stares at him for a moment with wide eyes, and then begins </span>
  <em>
    <span>laughing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She throws her head back like it’s the funniest thing in the world, laughing heartily, gladness radiating through every pore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was like the curtains of a nightmare had suddenly parted: relief surges through him like a tidal wave, and he finds himself laughing, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you killed it!” She laughs. “That was so fast!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grinning, he walks back to kneel down next to her on the pile of linens. “Feeling better?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oof,” she grimaces. “Much. Still nauseous though. Here, let me check to see if you’ve got any strange curses on you from that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Closing his eyes, he feels a light cloud of warmth wash over him, like sunshine, and the sensation of her cool fingers touching his temple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t seem like anything’s there,” she murmurs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he opens his eyes, the first thing he registers is her eyelashes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her proximity makes him freeze: it made him </span>
  <em>
    <span>hope, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but for </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he didn’t know.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a little beauty spot on the side of her cheek, by her jaw- possibly where the sun struck in the morning as she slept.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her eyes turned towards him, the furrow in her brows easing as she gazed at him. There was a quiet intensity in it, and for a moment, they drank in the sight of each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen is the first to look away; she drops her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kohaku lets out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, feeling oddly disappointed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Need um. To drink some water.” Sen’s cheeks are slowly coloring, even as she’s turning her face away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku, on the other hand, immediately colors a bright and obvious crimson. “Right,” he says, a little too quickly, eyes darting towards the tray. He hands her the tea, and as their hands brush, he wonders if it’s possible for a human being to spontaneously combust.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lifts the tea to drink, and with a shudder, the visible cuts and scrapes seal up, pinching themselves out of existence. The shoulder wound, though remained stubbornly the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku watches this with his mouth agape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gulping the last of it, Sen shrugs. “This is nothing- ugh,” she cringes, muscles seizing and doubling over. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.” She sighs. “I’m just about scraped raw of everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Of what? Of magic? Of life? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku badly wants to ask, but is afraid of the answer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another, more pressing question rises.  “What should I do with the sheets?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There is a moment where Sen casts a contemplating eye over the mess, head hanging low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go to Kamaji, and burn them if you can. And ask him where he thinks I am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because if Kamaji can’t tell where I am, we have time to </span>
  <em>
    <span>move</span>
  </em>
  <span> me before Yubaba finds me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...but...you’re in no shape to move!” It bursts out of Kohaku, angry and upset. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen shakes her head. “I don’t want you to be at risk.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> the reason you’re like this?” It comes out of Kohaku, accusatory. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, he wants her to refute, say that Yubaba was only callous and that she’d expect Sen to get back to work immediately.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Sen only looks away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mute and frustrated, Kohaku scoops up the filthy linens with rather more force than necessary, rolling them up in a worn winter blanket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He marches away through the hallway, but something in him softens, and he leans his head back to tell her: </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be back soon, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her answering smile, though still weak, dissolves the rest of his anger like snow in the spring, leaving him muddled and confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite the lateness of the hour, Kamaji was still up and about: Through the wooden door, there was the sound of crackling coal and flame, of a great wheel turning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku slides open the door, grunting with difficulty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Kohaku, don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>scare </span>
  </em>
  <span>me like that-” Kamaji’s voice abruptly cuts itself off, then sharply: “What’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>that?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku raises his head from where he’d been stuffing the bulk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need you to help me burn this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There is a significant pause.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...I won’t, until you’ve told me what you’ve gotten yourself into,” Kamaji replies warily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku looks away, back down into the linens. Now was a good time as any to pop the question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Do you know where Sen is?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Crouching, he shoves the rest of it in and closes the door behind him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kamaji frowns. “I wouldn’t know where that girl’s gotten off to. I’m her </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not her </span>
  <em>
    <span>keeper</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku experiences the peculiar sensation of simultaneously feeling relief and having gone cold at once: </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It meant that Sen </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> successfully hidden, but she must be weakened indeed, if Kamaji couldn’t feel her aura at </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silently, he rolls open the blanket, and hears an audible intake of air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kamaji whispers in a hush, as if he can’t quite believe his eyes. The spider stares at the bloody linens, frozen in place. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He knows whom it belongs to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So Kohaku nods once, grimly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But… </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Kamaji asked, sounding dumbstruck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need to dispose of these </span>
  <em>
    <span>now.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Before Yubaba finds out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yubaba?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kamaji exclaims, then falls silent. “Put it in, kid. Go ahead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Kohaku wads the linens, bit by bit into the furnace, tearing long strips to fit through the small grate, Kamaji speaks up: “There’s a larger entrance for the furnace on the side. You can try fitting some of it there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome,” Kamaji replies gruffly. “Now do you wanna tell me what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> happened to her?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t know what happened to her. I don’t know why she almost died.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She came back. But… she’s not well.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another intake of breath. “You keep that girl secret until she’s well and ready,” Kamaji utters fiercely. “Never mind Yubaba, if anyone got wind of </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the bath house, there would be no end to it. She’d be torn limb to limb- she’d make valuable food.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nausea rises through Kohaku, and it isn’t from smelling the vomit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll probably be fine, kid,” Kamaji remarks, voice softer, but it sounds like he’s trying to convince himself more than Kohaku. “She’s tough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><ul>

</ul><p>
  <span>Smelling now faintly of soot and ash, Kohaku makes his way back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he arrives, he settles down next to her: Sen’s eyes follow his movement, even mid-sip of the soup.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>that?” Kohaku nods at the very prominent black spot on the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...that black thing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, the stuff I got all over my foot.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen inexplicably bursts again into laughter once more, choking on the soup, and for several moments, Kohaku is left holding her, befuddled as she shakes with silent laughter, clutching at her sides. “That… well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was </span>
  <em>
    <span>a heavenly seal of knowledge</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku attempts to wrap his head around this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>First, alarm (he destroyed something so massive that his brain can’t even begin to comprehend that it </span>
  <em>
    <span>looked like a very fast slug</span>
  </em>
  <span>), then dismay, and confusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But.. it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurting</span>
  </em>
  <span> you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen looks awkward for a moment, laughter subsiding: she looks down into her faint reflection. “It was Yubaba’s sister’s: I stole it from her,” Shame crept over her face, twisting her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bottom drops out of Kohaku’s stomach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>stole it?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen looks for a while longer into her soup. Then:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The contract… compels me to perform Yubaba’s orders. It was a punishment- one where she didn’t have to dirty her hands. She can’t go against the contract either, you see.” Sen smiles, a hint of irony in it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So-“</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It means if she can’t kill me, she’d give Zeniba cause to. There’s loopholes in magic.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku stares at her in horror.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen shakes her head. “I don’t know for </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> whether Yubaba really intended on killing me through proxy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you were, enough that you told me to not tell anyone that you were here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen nods reluctantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span>No Face </span>
  <em>
    <span>hungers. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They are (so empty, a gaping mouth) without an audience, without humanity to perform for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>There was a boy who let me in. The one the dragon said I couldn’t touch.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She looked so fierce on the bridge under the light of the afternoon sun; with piercing eyes that appeared bottomless.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He stood before me in the twilight and offered me warmth and shelter from the cold, and tea for my stomach.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The night of the boy’s triumph, they’d wandered the hallways looking for him, wanting to perform </span>
  <em>
    <span>(A noble heart always pays their debts, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the voice of the narrator says</span>
  <em>
    <span>) </span>
  </em>
  <span>looking for where the human boy had gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At last they gave up, and had sunk into the darkness of the tub they’d bathed clean the other spirit, becoming liquid, wondering how to pay him back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then footsteps came in the night, and it was a frog- a frog greedily picking for gold.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Gold, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the frog’s heart said, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>gold, </span>
  </em>
  <span>No Face’s hands held, sweet and tantalizing as honey.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the frog’s hands close upon it, No Face is </span>
  <em>
    <span>hungry.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the frog looks at them, their eyes are full of a surprised terror- and when No Face swallows them whole-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stomach full for a time, No Face rests.</span>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span> No Face wandered the halls again, looking for the boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They found him with heavy feet that say </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired </span>
  </em>
  <span>and a furrow in their brow that said </span>
  <em>
    <span>worried. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The boy is murmuring about food, and No Face knows something about hunger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Nourishment for nourishment; </span>
  </em>
  <span>it’s an understandable enough trade. So they offer the teacup back, but it’s a mistaken gesture: The boy thinks </span>
  <em>
    <span>refill</span>
  </em>
  <span> and ducks into the kitchens- which are surprisingly close- to ask for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s just as well; No Face jumps on the chance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Soup. Sake. Rice, </span>
  </em>
  <span>they groaned with the voice of the frog. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The look of surprised pleasure from the boy had warmed them; had made them full in a way that they hadn’t felt in so </span>
  <em>
    <span>long. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>A child in the crowd looks, with shining eyes as the actors walk an act of life and death, between waking nightmare and nighttime terror-)</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they are thanked with gratitude, they feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>peace-</span>
  </em>
  <span> utter peace, like they have not felt in many, many endless years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe... they’d like it if I gave them </span>
  </em>
  <span>more</span>
  <em>
    <span> food.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yubaba raps her pen against the wood of her desk angrily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Honestly, the nerve of her to leave her during all this mess, Yubaba thinks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Where </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>that dratted Dragon? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yubaba had kept track of Sen through part of the terrible storm, but had lost track somewhere in the middle- partly because her bath house was about to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>flooded.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>had really been something. She could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> the burning wrath through the contract, the spite and fury- and with it came the rain and the wind, roaring down everything in it’s path. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was an experienced witch, though: she knew that it would be not nearly enough to destroy everything that she’d built in a single night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she knew then that her threats towards Sen had not gone unnoticed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Was she attempting to </span><em><span>die</span></em><span> before</span> <span>reaching Yubaba? Death before giving up her honor? A storm of this size could kill Sen in her enslaved state- in her natural state; it would be different.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Yubaba kept as firm a leash as she could possibly ensnare on Sen, because of course, it wouldn’t do if Sen somehow brought down the foundations of the building while throwing out an unruly customer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the contract was intact, which somewhere,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>out there, Sen was alive. And was </span>
  <em>
    <span>refusing</span>
  </em>
  <span> to clean up the mess she made.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> quite possible that she was just in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>process </span>
  </em>
  <span>of dying. It was difficult to say. If that was the case, it was important to save the seal of knowledge from her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yubaba didn’t think that Sen had the capability to </span>
  <em>
    <span>open</span>
  </em>
  <span> the seal- powerful as the dragoness was, she wasn’t a heavenly being. And by the look on her face as she left, she knew it, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, the seal was a good bargaining chip for when Boh grew older. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As if her thoughts had called him, thundering footsteps pounded the carpeted floors of her apartment, and Yubaba hurriedly scribbled her approval on the document her hand was resting on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, dear?” She asks as sweetly as she can, not looking up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sen</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Boh bawls, and at this she did look up, watching tears welling up in his face like swollen lakes. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I want Sen!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A little speechless, she stares at Boh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rather thought she’d started to nip </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>particular attachment in the bud. Yubaba rather thinks she’s heard this refrain enough to last her a lifetime. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An old jealousy welled up: she wonders what would happen if she told Boh that his precious Sen had gone missing, and was possibly dead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Probably badly, she admitted. As much as she rather wanted to say it, it wouldn’t have the desired effect at this age. Boh had no real concept of death, and would just feel like she was keeping Sen away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But then again, it brought up an excellent motivation for her to go searching. So she smiles, placating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There, there. Mommy’s going to find Sen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh’s tears stem, and though his face is mottled red, he looks hopefully at Yubaba. It makes her gut turn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she pats his enormous kneecap and gets up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she leaves the room to fly out once more, she does not notice the sliver of white paper hanging from his belt’s backside.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Special note towards the title of the chapter: I often try to find English translations to Haiku that I feel might be appropriate for the chapter! I liked this one "ゆるやかに　着て人と逢ふ　蛍の夜 * Yuruyaka ni/ Kite hito to au/ Hotaru no yo * Wearing cloth loosely, I meet a man / At the night of firefly." Which is to say, "wearing cloth loosely" is meaning to trust the man, which I thought reflected on Kohaku and Sen this chapter- and fireflies evoke the image of eternal life. (possibly through death?) </p><p>THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE READING (and leaving such positive and moving feedback) I literally read it all week to give me encouragement. I really hope you like how I've written Kohaku and Sen this week! We're starting to diverge from canon a bit here- it's about to get spicy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. While you decline to cry, high on the mountainside- a single stalk of plume grass wilts.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Despite Kohaku’s half-risen hopes, Sen did not miraculously get better, though she didn’t seem ashen nor nauseous- but he could still </span>
  <em>
    <span>see</span>
  </em>
  <span> her fever: cherry cheeked and glassy eyes, and weak gestures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen determinedly shoves rice into her mouth, though it’s clear that it takes effort: part of Kohaku wants to offer to feed her, but something tells him that she would respond badly to that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure you don’t want some?” Sen asks Kohaku, and it’s so </span>
  <em>
    <span>kind. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kind so as to be bewildering; she was only on her deathbed a little while ago, and she was still offering the food she so desperately needed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shakes his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So.. why </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> you like this? It wasn’t… just the seal, right?” He ventures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen’s chewing slows upon hearing the question, and he watches her eyes flutter shut. She swallows the rice, and Kohaku watches it disappear, a small lump down her throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When I first took the seal,” she began carefully, “it drove me insane. I went berserk...enough to draw the attention of heaven.” Her eyes ficker open, and with one hand, she touches where the wound still lay, bandaged. “So, I fought the god that came.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She does not look at Kohaku.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It takes a moment to process. And when it finally registers-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not only- not </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> did she </span>
  <em>
    <span>fight a person of heaven</span>
  </em>
  <span>- (and wasn’t that something so mind bogglingly terrifying that he wanted to forget about it) but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>lived.  </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a breathtaking moment, Kohaku had a real inkling of what Lin meant: that Sen was </span>
  <em>
    <span>powerful. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Powerful enough to defy </span>
  <em>
    <span>heaven</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a yawning sense of alienation on the horizon- the subconscious realization that this person wasn’t even remotely human at all, but a </span>
  <em>
    <span>kami. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But just as abruptly as it started, that alienation closed together with a snap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because he’d also seen something Lin hadn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen was sitting there in front of him, feverish, with a blackened hole through her shoulder. She was on the brink of death just a little while ago, trusting him to save her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt a rush of- something, realizing that. Something heady. Because- it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was powerful beyond his comprehension. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sen. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps it was power that gave her that strange weight that seemed to rest on her shoulders. It had a weariness- a </span>
  <em>
    <span>loneliness</span>
  </em>
  <span> so familiar that Kohaku could almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>taste</span>
  </em>
  <span> it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t have to be powerful all the time. You can rest with me, if you want to. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But it felt too intimate to say, somehow. So he takes a breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll be there for you, if you let me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think that human methods would work on your fever?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen blinks, lowering the soup from where she was going to drink. “Not going to tell me I was stupid to pick a fight with heaven?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean… if you’re asking me this, then yes, you already know,” Kohaku replies, dry as a bone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen laughs, and it’s like a balm. For some reason, her happiness was incredibly infectious- he felt like he could listen to it forever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sen... I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>glad you’re alive,” Kohaku confesses in a moment of pure earnestness, like a secret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen’s laughter stops, but she’s smiling- though it had a profoundly bittersweet quality about it. “You’re the first to ever say </span>
  <em>
    <span>that.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Then, like magic, the bitterness melts away like snow in the sun, leaving only a pure sweetness. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> glad I was alive to meet </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>takes Kohaku’s breath away. Speechless, he only hoped that he hadn’t gone so red that she’d notice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he lowers his head in gratitude, hoping she’d understand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sees her hand waving in dismissal, and the moment is broken: he hears her clearing her throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> “I haven’t gotten sick in the way that humans do for a long time, really,” she confesses. “It’s… it’s my magic returning. Since I exhausted it.” A shadow falls across her face, and worry knits her brow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku realizes, without being told: When her presence becomes stronger, there will be those who can sense her.</span>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span>The morning passes, and Sen appears to become worse, as time went by: occasionally she contorts in pain, and she has curled up in a ball: Kohaku has taken to nursing her once again, to much her obvious embarrassment. Occasionally there are cold spots around her, as if he was sticking his arm into freezing cold water. It worried him, but she brushed his concerns aside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, as the sunset stretches over the horizon, pink and golden, Sen is the worst he’s seen since she had originally came to him:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have to take me to my room,” Sen says to him then, pale white, brow beaded with cold sweat. “You can’t be discovered with me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku clamps his lips together, biting down on them. “Why not?” He replies, tightly as he wipes her with a damp, tea soaked rag. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What makes you think I could leave you alone? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A haunting, vulnerable expression of shock flits across Sen’s face, and Kohaku realizes that he’s said it aloud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because Yubaba will discover me with you, at this rate. You have to save your parents.” She whispers, after a moment. “You’re the one who must. I… I don’t think I can’t bear it if I’m a burden to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku bursts out angrily, close to tears. “Can’t you just- not think that for a minute? I don’t want </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>of you to be hurt or, or </span>
  <em>
    <span>die!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Answering tears build in Sen’s eyes, and for a moment, she looks remarkably young, even younger than Kohaku himself. She looks away. “I hate being like this,” she confesses, and angry tears spill down her humid cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Kohaku says, shakily. As gently he knew how, he wipes away the returning sweat on her face, wiping the stray tears away as he did so. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She turns again, leaning into the contact; the sheer </span>
  <em>
    <span>tenderness </span>
  </em>
  <span>makes his breath stutter in his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she looks into Kohaku’s eyes, her gaze is no longer hazed with frustration or grief. There is only clarity in it, as if she was looking all the way through his soul, down to it’s very bottom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her hand rises, as if to cover his own. But it stops, just an inch away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A kind of light has lit in her face; her whole body tenses. “She’s gone,” she whispers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To his alarm, Sen struggles to her feet, grabbing a hold of the doors with an iron grip. There is a glint like steel in her eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sen!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Take me back to my room,” she utters, slightly out of breath. “Now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku, wheezing and slightly out of breath slides open the door to her room with a sharp </span>
  <em>
    <span>clack. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Her arm slides off his shoulder: with a single step over the threshold, she promptly sits with a sigh of relief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku looks worriedly at her. “Where do you keep your futon?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen gestures vaguely across the room, clearly out of breath and Kohaku goes to the one he thinks she’s pointed at: he slides open the door, but instead of a futon, there is a small desk the size of a large tray, neatly tucked away with an ink block and a worn out brush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To his astonishment, behind it are dried flowers and reeds, neatly pinned to the paper walls- perhaps with magic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-it’s not here,” he calls out. “But I see flowers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stares at them for a moment longer, mute with surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Try the next door to your left,” he hears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, this was the correct choice; a vibrant motley of color practically falls out of the door, smacking him in the face: his world, for a moment, is covered in Sen’s scent, and as he walks back to her, his stomach feels funny. He hopes he isn’t blushing again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he lays out the mat, he recognizes the flowers printed: drifting in an invisible current</span>
</p><p>
  <span>along a seafoam green sea, were sakurasou flowers. He pauses for a moment, gazing at it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Sen asks. Kohaku traces the outline of the water current, lost in memory:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My... grandmother used to grow these flowers outside of her house.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Cold spring days, the bright magenta primrose shining brightly in the sun, even when the rain would bring sheets of the occasional snowfall)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Sen climbs in, he ventures:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why… Do you keep pressed flowers in your room?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It hangs in the air between them, and in that moment, Kohaku knew he’d asked a more personal question than he’d anticipated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her face twists. “Because… I can’t… </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” She utters, with a quiet frustration. “The memory.. is always </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she says, more to herself than to him. “But it’s always out of reach. I don’t… It’s supposed to remind me of </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku stays silent, waiting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The heart remembers,” she whispers. “Even if my mind doesn’t. So I keep flowers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><ul>

</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku ends up going through the motions that night- his heart isn’t really in it. Mercifully, Lin allows him to stick by her side like a limplet and only asks him to do simple chores, like helping carry platters of food and running to get this and that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kiddo? Uh… maybe you’re always this solemn, I don’t know, but are you okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You can’t tell anyone. Please.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku shakes his head. Though he wants to tell Lin, he thinks he understands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lin isn’t strong enough or important enough to stand up to Yubaba, for Sen, if it came down to it. Or stand in the way of the other workers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lin! Lin, one of the customers said they want the human.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lin actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>shoves </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku behind her at this: too shocked by this gesture of support to do anything, Kohaku stands there dumbly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And why the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell </span>
  </em>
  <span>do they want him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t ask, did you,” Lin accuses, sounding annoyed. “Well, go on then. He’s not gonna turn out huge amounts of gold </span>
  <em>
    <span>every </span>
  </em>
  <span>time for all of us, you know. We don’t have Mistress Sen to fish out asses out of trouble like usual, so for heaven’s sake </span>
  <em>
    <span>be careful. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He’s still one of ours.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Kohaku is allowed out from behind Lin, the frog actually looks vaguely contrite. “They </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>a well paying customer,” he defends himself weakly, and Lin rolls her eyes. “If Mistress Sen were here to hear that, she wouldn’t care. Hell, she’s even kicked out a gold spirit before, and he probably could </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>shit gold bricks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku chokes on a laugh- he can’t help it. Lin elbows him, and the frog goes scurrying down the hallway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay close to me, kid,” Lin advises, one hand running through her long hair. “Don’t know why they requested a human specifically, but nothing particularly good comes immediately to mind. At best, they might be asking for an ego booster of a worshipper or something, I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And at worst?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, at worst… you better hope you aren’t alive to worry about it, if it comes down to that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku gulps, and Lin pats his back heartily. “I’ve got experience,” she states, a little too cheerfully. “It’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Shadows loom long and strange in the hallways to the awaiting customer; Kohaku was so busy before that he hadn’t had a chance to really reflect on the whats and whys of whom he was serving: In many respects, it was so much like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>human </span>
  </em>
  <span>izakaya or inn that it was an easily dismissible experience. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But now he had all the time he needed to look, and it really </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>the place of kami; shadowy figures made of horns and blobs, or coiling like snakes and clouds- leaning against the paper screens, illuminated by the light, the night filled with inhuman laughter and chatter. Accents of millennia past, or incredibly thick regional accents filled the hallways. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And in between these corridors, the girls and frogs ran about, some in decorated kimono and hakama, but more often in the workers uniform that denoted their rank. Most of them had harried expressions, carrying food and drink just like he was. Some of them were even tailing after their more senior counterparts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here,” the frog states, a little out of breath as he points at the sliding door. Oddly, this one didn’t have a shadow coming from it, exactly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he stood there, Lin raised one eyebrow. “Well? Are you gonna ask what he wants with the human or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The frog colors, looking annoyed. “Do I have to?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes </span>
  </em>
  <span>you have to. I’m not about to throw him to the lions den and you know it. He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>new.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the frog utters, clearly exasperated, and opens the door. “Good evening, dear customer-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The door slides shut behind him, and Kohaku is left staring at the gap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In it, he’d spied a very familiar clay mask. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. Could it be </span>
  </em>
  <span>that </span>
  <em>
    <span>spirit? But why? </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Confusion and anxiety ramps up in him, with a small amount of relief trickling through it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he doesn’t have much time to think before a froglike hand reaches out, and yanks him in: “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hey!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Lin’s angry voice rings out, and the door slams solidly shut in back of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mayhem </span>
  </em>
  <span>stretches before him: platters and platters of food pile high to the ceiling, stinking of grease against the scowling visage of a blue demon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A stray fried shrimp somewhere from by his head, partially eaten, slides off of a platter and falls to the tatami with a faint sound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But before him was a slightly terrifying sight: </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shadow spread, like liquid upon the floors, with limbs like human hands acting as spider-like feet. A truly enormous mouth grins at him, with the incisors of a giant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Haku is here, dear customer,” the frog utters, and the shadow turns to look at the frog with soulless eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A hand emerges, black and liquid; it pours gold into the waiting hands of the frog, who bows hurriedly. “You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>truly </span>
  </em>
  <span>generous!” As the frog raises his head, they gasp, eyes glittering with greed. “Thank you </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>so much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Leave,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The shadow utters.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right you are, dear customer, enjoy,” the frog sputters, eyes bulging over the gold. Kohaku probably had ceased to exist to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bowing his way to the door, the frog takes his leave, and Kohaku is left in the chaos.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A little helplessly, Kohaku asks: </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why am I here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I thought you might want to eat with me. Are you hungry?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A kind of muted terror rises up in Kohaku at those words; though he is tired, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>hungry, he knows that there would be a consequence unnamed for his naivete. He hasn’t forgotten his parents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shakes his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t want you to lie to me, Haku. I’ll be </span>
  </em>
  <span>angry </span>
  <em>
    <span>if you lie to me. I’m hungry all the time. I want you to look at me,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>No Face utters, in that strange, unnatural baritone of his. Like he’s borrowing someone’s vocal chords to speak. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Look at me, Haku.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s not my name, Kohaku nearly answers, but swallows, now truly terrified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he looks at No Face.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m so lonely. So lonely,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>No Face says to him, and the mass begins to </span>
  <em>
    <span>move, </span>
  </em>
  <span>crawling on monstrous hands and feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the back of his neck, Kohaku’s hairs begin to stand. All of that friendliness from before seemed to wash away in the light of the sight before him, but...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lin might be in trouble with the others if I leave now, he thinks to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That monstrous, salivating mouth comes ever closer and closer, and Kohaku tries, desperately not to think about how terrified he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t you feel sorry for me?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The enormous mask asks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“But no one ever is.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Kohaku asks, reflexively. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lots of things,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The shadow moans. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“But if you want to know, you should eat with me. Won’t you keep me company while I eat, Haku?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku desperately wants to call for Lin. He nearly does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then he remembers: if Yubaba was gone, and Sen was lying sick in bed, that meant no one was going to come to help either of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vertigo washes over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I have to be able to diffuse this. Somehow.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feeling rather like he’s signing his own death warrant, Kohaku nods. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a smile like the devil, No Face hands him a plateful of food.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh slams down an enormous, meaty palm, nearly flattening one of the green heads. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d escaped his room once again, much to the distress of the green heads, who were doing their very best to get him to go back to his room. But after a while, their skulls bouncing off of his back and shoulders were getting to be annoying: purple was beginning to rise in spots across his flesh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’s mama?!” he sobs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yubaba had left some hours ago. In fact, it was probably the longest he’d ever been left truly alone in his life, aside from sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Needless to say, Boh felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>abandoned. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a doting creature like Yubaba who was otherwise independent in her own right, this was something that she had failed to foresee: that Boh would be upset that there was no one left to take care of him for a few hours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hate you mama! I want Sen!” Boh begins somewhere on a sob and ending in a screech. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I want Sen! </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>I want Sen!</em>
  </b>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pounds the floors mercilessly in his fury, causing everything to jump and crash with every beat. “</span>
  <b>
    <em>I want Seeeeeennnnnnnn!!! Where is she?!” </em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>The Green heads gawk at him, as much as they could without necks to support their jaws. It was a temper tantrum that they hadn’t seen the likes of in a long while; at a minimum, at least since their creation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bawling, Boh continues pounding and crying into the carpet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somewhere above him, Kohaku can hear a vague pounding noise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Lin doesn’t open the door to warn him, so he assumes that it was just rowdy guests. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Is it good? It tastes </span>
  </em>
  <span>delicious</span>
  <em>
    <span>, doesn’t it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Actually, though intellectually Kohaku knows that it is tasty- it’s divine food, after all- his stomach has refused to think of it as anything but sawdust. The grease and vegetables churn in his stomach, making him feel queasy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, he offers a faint smile. Then: it occurs to him; he needs to bring food back to Sen somehow again. It might not taste very good to him, but it could mean life and death to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And... that this person could allow him to take it with him once more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re very generous,” he says, and it sounds empty. “Thank you,” he tries again, with a bit more effort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re not enjoying the food,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>No Face says sadly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Why? I tried so hard for you…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nonsensically, Kohaku remembers an story bit from a long time ago: </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>(A mouse leaves her husband to come back to her family, and her mother scolds her: “What was so hateful about him that you left?” “Oh no,” the mouse replied. “I don’t hate anybody, but he is so tender, and I hate that…”)</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a bit more effort, Kohaku smiles, but he knows it’s brittle.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Do you want to know why I’m lonely? I’ve never told anyone else, you know. It can be our secret.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The truth was, Kohaku didn’t want to know. At this point, he wanted to go back to his room and forget that the night ever existed. Maybe see Sen smiling again before he went to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” he says instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>(“What is so hateful about being tender?” The mouse mother asks, exasperated.)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe I </span>
  </em>
  <span>won’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell you, though. Until you tell me what you </span>
  </em>
  <span>really </span>
  <em>
    <span>want.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku hesitates.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>(“But his voice is so sweet…”)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I can give you gold, you know. The others seem to like it. Would you like it?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku shakes his head, and a liquid hand outstretched over the filthy floor, full of shining gold, pouring over the sides to scatter beside Kohaku’s feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Take it,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The shadow urges.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kohaku shakes his head. This- </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>was even more binding than food.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>(“...You know, it sounds just like a cat’s.”)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The black liquid swallows his neck, enveloping it: it’s a threat and temptation in one, shining gold before his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Take it,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the spirit commands, sounding almost angry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then, the room shakes: the sonorous cry of an enormous baby pierces the room, and both No Face and Kohaku look away towards the source.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door bursts open. “Haku!” Lin cries, looking around wildly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she catches sight of Kohaku, he watches the interesting sight of someone nearly going purple with rage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dear customer,” she states icily. “I’m so </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the inconvenience, but Kohaku </span>
  <em>
    <span>must </span>
  </em>
  <span>be getting back to his duties. As you’ve likely heard, there is an </span>
  <em>
    <span>emergency</span>
  </em>
  <span> and all hands are needed. So let him go, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She spits </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>like it’s a curse word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amazingly, No Face withdraws his hand, and marching in there, ignoring all of the fallen food- with a firm yank, Lin pulls Kohaku out of that room, and firmly slams the doors shut once more. Feeling weak with relief, Kohaku allows this without any form of resistance. “You looked like you were about to be eaten!” she whispers to him in a shrill voice, patting him down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Is </span>
  </em>
  <span>there an emergency?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes there is, but it can wait,” Lin replies distractedly, “Ugh, if we had Mistress Sen right now, it would be solved in a minute. I have no idea how Yubaba even began to manage without her before- this is all a mess. Are you hurt?” she asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not that I can tell,” Kohaku replies wryly, feeling his neck where phantom fingers lay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lin’s eyes search his own, mouth twisted in worry. “Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather get out of here, actually,” Kohaku half-smiles. Part of him thinks that No Face would burst through the door to demand him again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right.” Lin mutters, looking abashed. “Come on then,” she commands gruffly. “Well…” she trails off. “It’s a bit of a frying pan into the fire situation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They set off, feet pounding upon the wooden halls. The shadows in the hallway aren’t nearly so prominent, now, and the jovial chatter has fallen to concerned muttering. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So...what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Basically, there’s an enormous child that’s causing havoc on the upper floors,” Lin explains briskly. “ We don’t know who’s child he is and where he came from, but he seems to know Mistress Sen. So he’s probably seen her before she left. We’re also trying to look for his parents- but no one’s stepping forward, which is a bit odd.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A chill goes down Kohaku’s spine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, Lin was not kidding at all. That was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>enormous </span>
  </em>
  <span>baby. At least twice the size of No Face, if not more. Kohaku stares, a little dazedly at the child that seemed to be brushing the ceiling, waterfalls coming from his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sennnnnnn,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he cries, “Why are you all so mean to me?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Out of the corner of Kohaku’s eye, he saw the frogs; and in their hands were enormous swathes of rope.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shock and indignation war in his stomach: Oh boy. He’d better handle this somehow. “You can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>tie up a baby,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He hisses to Lin, who looked at him with an arched brow. “You got a better idea, genius?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku looks at her incredulously. “Have you all never seen a baby before? Get some desserts from the kitchen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lin’s mouth falls open a little, and the dawning of realization flickers into life in her eyes: she’d probably never had to deal with a baby, it was true, Kohaku realizes, but she’d seen a bad guest or two before in her life. They’d probably be appeased with liquor, but it was the same concept.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey! You there, go get us some desserts!” She calls to the frogs with the rope, who glance at her incredulously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sensing resistance to the idea, hastily, Kohaku steps forward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” He calls up, gently as he knows how. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, the baby actually seems to notice him, even in the midst of it’s distress. It sniffles loudly, and it’s limbs fall to a sedentary position.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the back, Kohaku watches the frogs relax slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“M’names Boh,” the baby replies, using an enormous fist to wipe his eyes. “Who’re you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Haku,” Kohaku replies, smiling up at the baby. Despite the seriousness of the situation, dealing with this child felt infinitely better than No Face. “Would you like something sweet to eat?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The baby nods vigorously, giant head bobbing up and down. “You have to be good okay? You can’t cause any more trouble for the workers.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmhm,” Kohaku hears in assent, and Boh grabs a hold of Kohaku’s shirt, lifting to see him better. It’s a surprisingly delicate hold, for all that Kohaku feels like a kitten being hauled up by its mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you put me down?” Kohaku asks the enormous baby, with what he feels is an admirable amount of polite restraint. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The baby scrunches his enormous face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’ wanna,” he complains, and Kohaku fights the urge to grimace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then the baby leans in and </span>
  <em>
    <span>sniffs him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Frozen in shock, he nearly misses the next words: </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Hey,” the baby whispers. “You smell like </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sen.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku goes cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the next moment, Boh shakes him as easily as a rag doll. Kohaku feels his bones all banging together, sockets jostling. Distantly, he hears Lin shouting from below: Dizzy, disoriented, Kohaku can do little more than gasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Boh’s face comes very close to his, and his enormous mouth hisses:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t take me to Sen, I’ll scream.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku is prepared to tell him </span>
  <em>
    <span>No, </span>
  </em>
  <span>because of course not, but out of the corner of his eyes, he sees the platters of dessert being brought. It comes to him in a flash:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <span>If you sit there like a good boy, I’ll give you dessert, and I’ll try to find Sen. Okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh’s mouth twists in a display of petulance, and for a moment, Kohaku thinks that he’s going to make good on his threat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” the baby mutters. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OH MY GOD????? GHDJDHDJSJ??????? THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE LOVE AND SUPPORT!!! I was so shook to see everyone's feedback THANK YOU??? I can't wait to reply to you all!! I'm so sorry for the late upload, but we'll return to our normal Thursday upload by next Thursday! Sorry, life hit... In return for your patience, you get an extra long chapter! </p><p>Also, sorry about No Face. One thing I enjoy about writing this story is the moral ambiguity of everyone- and also, of course, No Face becomes a different person once devouring people. I think he's a bit slept on as a potential horror character tbh, though I personally love him in movie canon. Lin is such an MVP though pls give it up to the best big sister LOL,, bless her for having sense!! Shout out to my friend Anpan-chan who vibe checked No Face here as "OG Lecter" bc it made me laugh,, what did you guys think? </p><p>Boh.. Boh is a brat, basically. But also, Yubaba fully left him alone alone and thought that those heads were enough,,, I have to laugh LOLOL but she did that in canon too!! so oh well...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Lighting one candle with another candle in the spring evening</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>White peach juice runs down the baby’s face in thick, perfumed rivulets. Content, Boh shoves an enormous daifuku mochi, adzuki bean smearing his chin and fingers as Kohaku watches.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Incredibly, business had seemed to return to a form of cautious normality around the two of them: but Lin had to abandon Kohaku to return to their duties, and after much assurance, she left, darting uncertain glances at Boh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh, Kohaku had decided, was a bit like when one of the neighbors had a baby, except very strong. And large. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now the question was how he was going to ask Sen if Boh could visit her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, if she didn’t want to see Boh, how he was going to refuse him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An idea comes to him: it didn’t solve the problem at present, but it solved one that he’d been worrying over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you save some of that dessert, we can take it to Sen, you know.” Kohaku whispers to Boh, who immediately brightens up. “Okay,” the baby easily agrees, shifting some of the desserts closer to Kohaku.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, that sorted the food situation nicely, Kohaku thinks to himself, feeling immensely relieved. Patting Boh’s knee, he stands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Turning, he addresses one of the frog foremen still assigned to the two of them, who’d been watching them interacting nervously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to take him to one of the spare rooms until we find his parents, okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, fine,” the frog foreman replies heartily, looking immensely relieved, hat bobbing slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need help carrying the sweets?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh makes a loud, upset sound at that, and Kohaku cringes, before smiling. “No, I think we got it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With footsteps so loud that it was a wonder that they didn’t send personnel after them again, Boh and Kohaku make their way to Sen’s quarters: her quarters were located in an odd location, Kohaku thinks: somewhere between staff lodgings and clientele rooms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mercifully, he had remembered the path, and with trepidation, Kohaku knocks uncertainly upon Sen’s door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sen?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” he hears, and he slumps in relief: it sounds so </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s me. I uh,” he hesitates. “I know you said you didn’t want visitors, but someone was looking for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Confusion answered him: “Is it Kamaji? I didn’t think he’d leave his post-” The door slams open, nearly clipping his nose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holding his nose, Kohaku beholds Sen nearly at her former glory, strong and proud, though still injured. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her eyes burn fiercely in her face, but she doesn’t look at him: instead, she stared at the space </span>
  <em>
    <span>behind</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, expression melting into shock, mouth hanging open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Boh?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sen!” Boh cries out, nearly bowling Kohaku over in his effort to get to Sen: Sen looks alarmed, holding her hands out to steady Kohaku. “Oh, be </span>
  <em>
    <span>careful</span>
  </em>
  <span> Boh.” Surprisingly, Boh stops in his tracks, looking at Sen adoringly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku feels a strange mixture of emotions in his stomach, seeing this. He feels… weirdly upset. And left out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’d you get out?” She asks Boh, wonderingly. “I’m glad to see you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh puffs out his chest, clearly proud. “I broke out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen laughs- really laughs- for the second time in Kohaku’s presence, high and joyous, and those emotions gained strength somewhere in his stomach, gripping like vines.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She continues:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course you did. Was that </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>making all that noise?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Boh replies, entirely too proudly. “I met Haku!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you did,” Sen replies, in an entirely humoring sort of voice. “I see that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I like him,” Boh confesses, and Kohaku’s chest performs an odd, uncertain jump. it’s quickly forgotten when Sen darts a look at him; the strength of her gaze is like the sun, warm and fond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too,” she replies, smiling: Kohaku’s stomach does a funny twist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We brought snacks,” Kohaku says quickly, trying to fight an embarrassingly relieved, silly smile of his own in return.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! They brought dessert from the kitchen. It’s really good Sen, you should have some!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who would’ve thought I’d see the day,” Sen murmurs to no one in particular, so low that Kohaku nearly misses it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her voice raises: “That’s very generous of you Boh, I’m so glad you thought of me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh beams, and it’s hard not to feel some kind of form of affection upon seeing that, temper tantrum earlier or not.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, come in, then. It’s kind of small, Boh, so you’ll have to crouch. It’s our little cubby hole, alright?” Sen tells him kindly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>thought </span>
  </em>
  <span>I felt you,” Kohaku hears from behind them all, and whips around: </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, his heart seizes- behind Boh was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yubaba.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mama!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no. I’ve failed Sen. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Frantic, he looks towards her, ready to shield her- but she’s staring down Yubaba, lips thin and eyes narrowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Zeniba,” she greets, and Yubaba-look-alike scoffs. “I’m not your </span>
  <em>
    <span>mama</span>
  </em>
  <span>, boy,” she tells Boh as an aside, rather snippily. “Your aunt, more like.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Zeniba?! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku thinks, truly taken aback. His head reels. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew Yubaba had a sister that Sen had stolen from, but that she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>identical?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yubaba, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but it wasn’t much better: Kohaku half-steps in front of Sen, and Zeniba’s eyes narrow: a smile creeps onto her aged face. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> the one?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What? What one? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku thinks bewilderedly, looking up at Sen. Sen, however, isn't looking at Kohaku: instead she nods slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm,” Zeniba hums. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> looking remarkably well, considering. Where’s my seal?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku runs hot at this, then cold. (Sticky, under his foot)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gone,” Sen replies, shortly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba’s eyes bulge in their enormous, wrinkled sockets. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Gone?! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Don’t tell me that sister of mine has it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s destroyed,” Kohaku interjects, in a low voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba’s mouth drops open. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Destroyed?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I squished it,” Kohaku replies, feeling rather defiant. Part of him wonders if it would be better or worse to be clarifying the situation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, the traditionalist in him coughs very loudly, and he bows deeply. “I’m really sorry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>squashed it?!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Zeniba echoes again, and for a horrible moment, Kohaku thinks that Zeniba is going to rain hell on all three of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then- laughter. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>squashed it,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Zeniba cackles, and Kohaku raises his head to see her wiping away tears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that is the funniest news I’ve heard in a long time. They’re going to love that. And I’ll tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>about that later, without your nosy dragon around to listen. Thieves don’t get to listen to jokes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Kohaku looks back up at Sen, her face is contorted in remorse. “I really am sorry, Zeniba.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, for which part?” Zeniba asks archly, peering down her long, wrinkled nose. “Stealing or nearly flooding my house?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Flooding Zeniba’s house?! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku nearly exclaims.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stealing,” Sen replies, straight faced and serious. “I was very injured by your papers. You can magic out the water just fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fair’s fair,” Zeniba acquiesces. “Well, it’s fine. My sister hasn’t gotten it to make mischief, at least. I shudder to think what mischief she’d get up to with it…” she really does shudder, albeit theatrically. “I’ll see about the process of a replacement,” she winks at Sen. “Though you shouldn’t tell her that it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>possible</span>
  </em>
  <span>. If you want to make amends, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>can help me with sucking out the water of my house.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Half-smiling, Sen replies:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what about you ‘never forgetting’ it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zeniba sniffs haughtily. “I can forget for a century or two, dragon. Earn yourself some goodwill for the stunt you pulled.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nods at Boh, who was reaching out to tug at Zeniba’s dress. His large, chubby hand phases through, and Boh stares at his fingers in wonder. Zeniba laughs, and lightly pats his wrist. “Hello Boh,” she greets. “Would you like to come to auntie’s house?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh looks immediately towards Sen, who smiles at him. “It’s okay, Boh. Do you want to go outside?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh looks down, looking unusually guilty. “But… momma says to never go outside…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku realizes, rather belatedly, that Boh was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yubaba’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>child. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. That was why they couldn’t find Boh’s parents. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Then: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Was Boh imprisoned?!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay if you go out with someone you know,” Sen replies, unaware of Kohaku’s inner turmoil. “You see mama going out all the time, right? You remember.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh nods slowly. “But… isn’t mama different?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen shakes her head. “No Boh. Remember when mama taught you that the outside has germs, and I told you that soap is how people deal with germs? We had a lot of fun that day, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh’s face melts into a soft kind of nostalgic joy. “Yeah,” he whispers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So I’ll come with you.” Sen assures. “It’ll be okay, we’ll come right back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh looks like he’s ready to answer, but there is a distant roaring sound from somewhere above his head: Sen’s head snaps up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From where Kohaku is standing, her eye looks serpentine, somehow- and as he looks closer, he sees her pupil is </span>
  <em>
    <span>slitted.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A kind of haze of memory settles over him, and-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kami-sama)</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the moment is broken; Sen is smiling grimly. “Looks like we got company. You,” she points at Boh, “Stay here with your Auntie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Power nearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>crackles </span>
  </em>
  <span>around Sen as she walks, feet pounding the floor- a complete turnaround, as far as he could tell, from when she had sunk to the floor in relief. But- Kohaku is worried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>alright</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen flashes a brief, heartfelt smile towards him. “Much. I needed to buy time to start getting my magic back, and you provided that for me.” She exhales, looking back ahead. “It helps that she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone,</span>
  </em>
  <span> of course.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yubaba. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was odd, actually that she still hadn’t come back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Weren’t mothers usually a bit more attentive? Not that Kohaku was any paragon of advice on that- his mother hadn’t been the most nurturing type herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No…Whoever it is- they’re calling </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>name.” She marches forward to climb the staircase, full of a single-minded confidence. “It seems that I’ve misjudged </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> particular guest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Haku,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he hears through the paper walls, the ceiling above. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where are you? You’re not so cruel as to leave me for long, are you? You were so kind to me… I thought you were different…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a haunting, lonely sound- terrifying in it’s covetousness; black tar staining the floors of the bath house, pools of liquid, sticky wet, dripping through the cracks above them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Haku,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>No Face calls again, just above them both, in that strange baritone. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Haku. Why won’t you answer me? You’re made for me… you were put on this earth for me,” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>There is a strange, broken sobbing; Kohaku cringes. Then, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anger</span>
  </em>
  <span>:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tell me where you are, right </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>now</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A visible ripple goes down Sen’s spine, attracting Kohaku’s gaze, and as Kohaku turns to look at her-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>furious. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her face is alight, nearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>glowing</span>
  </em>
  <span>: her hair raises around her in an unnatural current, as if floating through water- The very air around her has become icy, a scalding cold; the kind of cold that kills before the water swallows you whole. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku stares at her- and though he can’t fully understand it, his fear floats away, like ice floe in a current-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They step into the main floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their surroundings, previously already full of hubbub, burst into chaos: </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Mistress Sen!” “Mistress Sen-” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The frogs and bath girls burst into explanations and exclamations, both fearful and excited: some stumble towards her at a half-run, and No Face pauses, turning his blank face towards the two.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen holds up her hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The surroundings fall to a dead silence; even No Face freezes where he stood, seeming to hardly dare to breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The eyes of the customers and staff alike watch her with hope and fear alike, with breathless anticipation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, she lowers her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Didn’t I tell you not to touch a single hair on his head?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sen hisses. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tell me, o performer, what you think it is that happens to those who cross me?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walks towards the enormous mass that is No Face; and far from the bravado he’d shown, he cringes before her, wiggling away, as if scant inches would be enough to delay her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The set of her face is cold, as if frozen into jagged ice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen’s hands flicker in and out of existence, and quick as a blink she sinks her hand into the shadowy flesh, revealing folds of printed cotton- and a forearm, smeared with the grease and slime of partially-digested food.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her fingers have become talons, cruel and predatory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her lip curls, observing the arm in her grasp: “You know,” she comments, nearly casually. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate</span>
  </em>
  <span> those who feel that they can do whatever they want to people under </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> protection.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No Face moans in pain in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sharply, she rips out the arm that she was holding; a large body follows it, flopping onto the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku watches in horror, but it’s not nearly over: </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen’s arm plunges into the mass of No Face, over and over again: one by one, entire bodies of the staff hit the floor in wet </span>
  <em>
    <span>thumps.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a long, horrid moment, Kohaku is convinced they are dead: but to his amazement, they seem to wake, groaning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, Sen hauls up a familiar green, delicate limb. She lifts it out of the muck, and peers at the frog, who blinks awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not the first time I’ve had to save your life, I see,” Sen remarks, and the frog stares at her blankly for a moment, then weakly bursts into laughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen gently lowers the frog onto the floorboards. “Try not to do it too often,” she remarks to him, and turns back to No Face: his stomach already seems to be reforming; gelatinous and liquid, reforming as easily as slime rejoining itself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will be giving you a single act of mercy,” she addresses the black mass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somewhere, beneath the haze of shock, Kohaku is astonished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen kneels in front of No Face. “So choose carefully, </span>
  <em>
    <span>dear customer.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she cheerfully warns the clay mask. “Either you will leave quietly, and you will be forbidden from the bath house- and ever approaching the insulted parties present- or I will kill you. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Slowly.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku inhales sharply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he </span>
  <em>
    <span>smells</span>
  </em>
  <span> it: the scent of rotten eggs and burning hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The entire plateau erupts into a din of sound once more, and as Kohaku turns, he sees </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yubaba. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time- he knows without a doubt that it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yubaba; and flames crackle in her hands, burning and bright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>Sen,” </em>
  </b>
  <span>She roars, and as Sen turns, she is powerful, yes, but she looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, she gazes defiantly at the furious witch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where is it?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Yubaba demands, and behind Sen, No Face moves weakly. Sen pays them no mind: “Gone,” she answers curtly, for the second time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Did you destroy it?” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen does not reply this time. She only smiles, cold and hard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No Face rises behind her unsteadily, like a wave, and in that moment; the movement attracts Sen’s attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yubaba’s hands roar, bursting into flame, and as the Witch breathes, she exhales </span>
  <em>
    <span>fire </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>smoke: </span>
  </em>
  <span>She rushes towards Sen- but at that very moment, No Face’s mouth opens and </span>
  <em>
    <span>opens,</span>
  </em>
  <span> intent on devouring Sen whole-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sen!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku yells, charging towards her. Startled, she looks towards him-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he dives in front of her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There is a lot of confusion that follows; the sound of crashing ceramic- there is </span>
  <em>
    <span>painpainpain </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh it burns it hurts it hurts-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A guttural snarl above him: then an icy, cool relief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When his senses return, he feels Sen’s hand covering his eyes; and there is a relief everywhere she touches, as if healing his hurt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His uncovered flesh now felt hot and cold, as if he had left a warming pack for too long all over his eyes and neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sen states, “Will be escorting out this… </span>
  <em>
    <span>customer. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You and I can...</span>
  <em>
    <span> talk</span>
  </em>
  <span> about this </span>
  <em>
    <span>later.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Her voice sounds tight with fury. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on then,” she addresses Kohaku, and her voice sounds so </span>
  <em>
    <span>different, </span>
  </em>
  <span>both gentle and sorrowful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you… want to take your hand off my eyes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” Sen replies, a little tightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d been walking awkwardly, back down the staircase. Despite her words, Kohaku didn’t feel the presence of No Face with them: blind, he glanced around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m…” Sen’s voice sounds suspiciously wet, she clears her throat. When she speaks, it’s more tremulous: “I’m healing them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” she admits in a rush. “I’m- I’m just trying to get it back to it’s original state. I’m trying to concentrate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But why-“ his mind drifts back to the pain: there was so much of it everywhere at the time, he hadn’t fully registered </span>
  <em>
    <span>where </span>
  </em>
  <span>it had gone. “Oh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you idiot.” Sen sounds close to tears, and somehow, it makes him feel better and worse for it.  “Why did you do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He exhales.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just… moved.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do that again.” She orders him in a rush, stumbling over her words until he can barely make out what she said. Sen clears her throat. “Don’t do that again,” she repeats, slowly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No promises.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Damn it, you can’t- </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Sen bursts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because,” Kohaku inhales. “You need someone to look after you, too. You’re… not invincible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There is silence. Kohaku waits- maybe for her to protest that she was strong, and didn’t need anyone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But all he feels is a solemn fondness, even as he awaits that possibility.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I know.” She whispers, to his surprise. Sen’s voice sounds </span>
  <em>
    <span>small.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “</span>
  <em>
    <span>I wish I was,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she adds after, rather passionately. “It’d make things </span>
  <em>
    <span>easier</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s how life is,” and isn’t it strange giving advice to a god. “It’s okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No it </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” She replies angrily. “You’re hurt! I let you- I </span>
  <em>
    <span>let you</span>
  </em>
  <span> get hurt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku smiles, despite the darkness. Despite their bickering, the steady stream of energy- maybe magic- hadn’t stopped, and the pain was ebbing away, returning his senses to normal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t get to choose whether I want to help you or not. I don’t regret it. I’d do it over again right now, if I had to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A strangled noise comes from next to him- it’s an odd noise: it’s like a laugh and a cry in one, maybe a groan of relief or exasperation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You brave, brave idiot.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a time, there is only the sound of their footsteps descending the staircase: in this, however, Kohaku only counted two sets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’s No Face?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In an altogether too casual voice, Sen replies:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I put him inside of a jar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku fantastically has a strange vision of an enormous pickling jar. “Where did you get </span>
  <em>
    <span>that?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“…Well… One of the girls tossed it at me. I think she was aiming to distract </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span> instead, but it worked out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku struggles to wrap his head around this. What comes out is:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How does he </span>
  <em>
    <span>fit?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Magic,” Sen replies, and her voice has become gently humorous once more. Something unknots in his heart, hearing that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sen!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Boh calls from somewhere ahead of them, and at that Sen’s hand lifts off of Kohaku’s lids, cool fingers disappearing into the darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it safe to open my eyes?” Kohaku wonders out loud: then, her hand takes a hold of his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her hand was back to being warm- the coolness was magic, after all, Kohaku realizes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re almost there,” She murmurs to him. Then, louder: “Thank you for waiting, Boh! And Zeniba,” she adds, to the sound of a “hmph.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of heavy feet follow them; it doesn’t sound like they’re stopping anytime soon, which makes Kohaku’s curiosity burn. Still, he doesn’t ask.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sharp sliding sound makes itself apparent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When his eyelids register a faint, glowing warmth, Sen announces: “Alright: Let’s have a look. Try to open them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku opens them, and Sen is standing </span>
  <em>
    <span>so close, </span>
  </em>
  <span>scrutinizing- his eyes? For the upteenth time, he feels himself coloring absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>red, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and his skin prickles with it sharply, unpleasantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen exhales in relief. “Your eyes seem fine,” she announces, but her brow furrows. “But your skin is worse than I thought…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a cool hand, she traces his cheek, and if he could bottle this moment forever, Kohaku thinks, dizzy, he would. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You might have some scarring,” she tells him, sounding distracted. “On your neck. But… I </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> I can get it down to something you can’t see, unless you look for it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Kohaku replies mindlessly. Sen’s hands sweep over his hot skin with an icy touch, and as she exhales, her touch lingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shivers a little; her hands cupping the join between his neck and shoulder felt good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Done,” she announces. Turning away, she looks behind her. Her hands linger for a moment longer, then drop away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking around, Kohaku recognizes his surroundings:</span>
  <em>
    <span>The entrance to the boiler room. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, Boh,” Sen addresses the enormous child. “Don’t think you can fit through here. But you still want to go outside, right? It’s okay if you don’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh shakes his head stubbornly. “Don’ wanna leave Sen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen smiles at Boh in the dim light, eyes folding and crinkling in fondness. “Alright. What do you want to be to go outside, Boh? Can be anything you want- What about an animal?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanna be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>rat!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Boh shrieks with glee, laughing, and Sen blinks. “A rat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Mama thinks rats are cool. They hide food and money! But she says we can’t have any here, unless they’re paying customers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen chokes on a laugh: shoulders shaking, she mutters: “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>does that make sense,” before coughing, and straightening up:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright Boh, close your eyes- and count to three:”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One,” Boh says obediently, scrunching his eyes tightly. His face looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>cute like that, Kohaku admitted silently. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <span>Two,” Sen raises a glowing hand- and as she does, it carries with it the inexplicable sense of rushing water- “Three!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To his astonishment, Boh shrinks- and shrinks- he becomes gently furry, with fluffy fur, almost like a chinchilla- and as Boh drifts towards them on an invisible breeze, Sen extends her hands, catching the small creature that was now Boh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Open your eyes, Boh.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Boh didn’t seem like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>rat, </span>
  </em>
  <span>exactly- Kohaku hadn’t ever seen such a routund rat in his life, nor one so</span>
  <em>
    <span> fluffy</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But he had the ears and the tail, and as Boh opened his eyes, they were enormous and black.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oops,” Sen mutters to herself. “I think that bit of thinking about rabbits got to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh looked around with an air of amazement, and as he did so, he began waving his hands around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Boh stretches his fat, chubby paws towards Kohaku, who stares at him in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sen laughs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think he wants to be carried by you. I see how it is,” She addresses Boh playfully. “You want to be with the guy who gave you desserts.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what brings </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> here today?” Kamaji addresses the two of them. Sen smiles and waves, and Kamaji makes a pleased sound. “Glad to see you up and about! You had me scared there for a moment, you tough little dragon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen only shrugs, looking a little shamefaced but somehow pleased. “I lived thanks to him,” she turns and smiles at Kohaku, who feels immensely embarrassed at this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very sweet,” Kamaji remarks, approving. Then</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kamaji leans over his station, looking eager: “What was all that ruckus I heard just now? It sounded like a brawl up there. Were </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>in it?” He addresses Sen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Both of us were,” Sen replied. “We’re just ah… taking out the trash now. I thought I’d come by to give my thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’re certainly welcome,” Kamaji replies, drawing back. “Have a nice time now,” he adds, his limbs giving them </span>
  <em>
    <span>five </span>
  </em>
  <span>thumbs up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen groans, and Kohaku somehow feels mortified. “We will,” Sen replies, grinning a little in the firelight. “Thanks again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kamaji shoos them out vigorously, and laughing under their breath, the two of them make it to the green door of the boiler room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>*</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Kohaku steps out, he is met with the glorious sight of where the ocean met sky, and the world seems vast and blue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the smoke of the boiler room, the world seemed extra clear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Beautiful,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he breathes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d seen glimpses of the ground-become ocean, occasionally, from his room- but it was often colored pink and gold by sunset, dimmed by twilight. The world stretched before him was enveloped in aquamarine and piercing blue- the clouds reflected, slightly in the sea; it seemed misty and hazy there, as if being seen from a dream.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” strangely, Sen seems embarrassed to hear this- and there is a hint of color in her face, almost like she was beginning a sunburn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then she turns and grins at him: “Come on then, I’ll race you to the bottom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the light of the beautiful day, it was like the nightmare of the bath house was washed away, bleached clean by the sunlight and pulled away into the invisible currents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their pounding feet echo along the wooden staircase, and Sen’s laughter echoes up the staircase- Kohaku finds himself grinning in return. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The world seemed somehow more magical for her happiness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he meets her at the bottom, his feet splash directly into the water, and as he yelps in surprise, she is smiling recklessly at him, laughing at his dismay. Her long, silken sleeve trails in the water, but she doesn’t seem to care.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s so cold!” he utters, attempting to defend himself, and she reaches for him, grabbing his hand to pull him closer, further into the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you like it?” she laughs, and he laughs too, staggering into her, bumping her shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he replies, because what else is there to say? And as he says it, she shoves something cold and hard into his hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he looks, it’s an earthenware jar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No Face, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he realizes. The reality washes over him then, sobering him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen clears her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, I think that the solution here is- You should do the honors.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku frowns at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of throwing him as far away as you possibly can, of course. The seal isn’t meant to last forever,” Sen replies, like it’s obvious. “Have you ever played sports?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>guess,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kohaku replies, looking down at the ceramic. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If you count playing catch with Grandma at the age of five.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen shrugs at him, still grinning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kohaku rolls the little jar side to side in his palm: It fit tidily into his hand- in fact, it seemed more like a small ume jar than a place for </span>
  <em>
    <span>housing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was hard to believe that such an enormous spirit was housed inside, but that was the way that the world worked now, he supposed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He adjusts his stance with a splash- thankfully, the current didn’t seem too strong- and begins winding his arm, like he’d seen Taka do in baseball. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he lets go, it goes higher and further than Kohaku had ever expected- his jaw unhinges a little as Sen delightedly laughs- and the jar flies farther and farther away, until he can no longer see it in the blue horizon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good throw!” Sen congratulates him, and squeezes his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He colors a little again at that, and side-eyes her suspiciously. “You helped me, didn’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Sen replies cheerfully: “He did try to eat me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was a point well taken. But…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now what?” Kohaku asks. “Do you have to go back to… deal with Yubaba?” He shivers a little, though it isn’t from the cold: the blazing fury of the witch had scared him- but more was Sen’s helplessness against her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sen pauses. “I… I think I’d better apologize to Zeniba first. Properly,” she adds. “If she wants help cleaning her home, I think I owe that much to her. And…” she drifts off. “I think that if there’s anyone to ask about helping free your parents, it’ll be Zeniba. Sisters often know what the other thinks, after all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku digests this. Something small and precious blooms in his heart: even in the wake of everything that had happened, she was still thinking of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” he agrees, easily. “How… do we get there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Sen looks mischievous. “how do you feel about walking?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it far?” Kohaku wonders. He couldn’t nearly see anything like a house within any visible distance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll see,” and with a smile like the sun, she grabs his arm, and begins </span>
  <em>
    <span>running. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku is pulled in her wake, too startled to move, water sloshing around them both.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pick up your legs and run- yes, that’s it-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Kohaku’s feet withdraw from the water, it’s as if his feet have become light as feathers, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>he is walking on water-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He laughs, delighted and amazed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boh chitters on his shoulder, though from surprise or delight, it’s hard to tell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kohaku runs the walk of a water god, though they both do not know it, and together, the two children sprint towards the endless horizon, leaving only ripples in their wake.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Once again I feel so blessed to have the support of such wonderful readers such as you! It's the highlight of my week to read your comments and thoughts upon my work, and really keeps me going. I hope lovers of BAMF Sen and Kohaku/Sen fluff are fed this week. Sorry to No Face lovers who didn't get to see a redemption arc, I quite liked him in Movie canon, too. </p><p>also SORRY FOR CUTTING OUT THE TRAIN RIDE GFHDJSHS but... I liked the image of them running together so joyfully so much I decided to go a different route altogether. My two kids deserve happiness.</p><p>and for being such good readers, you all get an extra EXTRA long chapter. LOL (it also just got away from me again)</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>SOOOOO WHAT DID YOU THINK.... I really wanted, for some reason to write about Dragon Chihiro! To kind of flip the script of Spirited Away and see what kind of journey she would have had in Kohaku’s place, and what Kohaku himself would have done in hers. I hope you guys like it! If you’d be so kind as to leave some comments, I’d love to talk to you about it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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